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Willie Mays’ house on the Peninsula resembled a museum that showcased his MVP awards, Gold Gloves awards, and many fascinating photos of the Say Hey Kid with presidents, musicians, Hollywood personalities, and Queen Elizabeth II.
Mays died June 18, 2024, at age 93. Now, many of his belongings will be presented in a live auction that will benefit the Say Hey Foundation. Hunt Auctions will oversee the bidding and sales.
The auction for Mays’ marquee items will take place Sept. 27 at the King Street Warehouse near Oracle Park. A silent online auction with hundreds of other items will close the next day.
Among the items are Mays’ MVP awards from 1954 and 1965, his World Series ring from 1954, Gold Glove awards, an All-Star MVP award, his Hall of Fame induction ring, a National League championship Mets ring, and his Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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Other items that might not be as familiar to fans include his All-Star uniform from 1962, the Silver Bat he received in 1954, a Babe Ruth Sultan of Swat Award crown from 1962, and a Giants warmup jacket from the early 1960s.
The auction company estimates the value of the World Series ring and All-Star uniform at between $500,000 and $1 million.
According to his friend and attorney Jeff Bleich, it was Mays’ desire to put his personal collection up for auction, with proceeds benefiting his foundation, which was founded in 2000 and is dedicated to fulfilling his “dream of giving every child a chance by offering underprivileged youth positive opportunities through athletics, coaching, nutrition, education, and providing safer communities.”
“He wanted to share these items with his fans so that together they could raise as much as possible to support other kids starting out in life the way he had,” Bleich said. “His one instruction to Dave Hunt at Hunt Auctions was ‘Make this the best auction ever to help those kids.’”
Mays was raised in a poor mining environment in Westfield and Fairfield, Alabama, just outside Birmingham, in the segregated South. He often spoke of the guidance and inspiration he received early in life from his father, aunts, teachers, and coaches. He spent most of his life helping and inspiring others.
“For all of his extraordinary achievements as a baseball player, Willie Mays wanted his enduring legacy to be helping children,” Bleich said. “Willie believed that every child deserves the chance to make the most of their talents.”
The first public display of the collection will be July 30 to Aug. 3 at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Illinois. Some “special event previews” will be available in the Bay Area.
Babe Ruth’s 1932 “called shot” jersey, which sold for $24.12 million in 2024, holds the record for the most expensive piece of baseball memorabilia, according to Sportico.