Willie Mays' son, Michael Mays, addresses the crowd aside baseball greats Ken Griffey Jr., left, and Barry Bonds, right.
Approximately 60 Negro League players were in attendance – marking the largest official gathering of the league’s players in nearly 30 years, according to the MLB.
A line of Negro League luminaries processed onto Rickwood Field before the game as “When the Saints Go Marching In” swelled through the stadium.
Greason, who served as a mentor to teenaged Mays, told Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal that Negro League players took to the field despite racism and segregation.
“The overwhelming consensus is that Willie Mays is the greatest all-around player who has ever played,” veteran sportscaster Bob Costas told CNN.
Persons:
Willie Mays, Mays, “, Willie, ”, of Famer Reggie Jackson, wouldn’t, Michael Mays, I’ve, he’s, Ken Griffey Jr, Barry Bonds, Vasha Hunt, Jon Batiste, Bill Greason, Eugene Scruggs, Pedro Sierra, Henry Collins, Lively, Brittney Spencer, Willie Jones, C.S, Armstrong, “ Todays, Masyn Winn, Ken Rosenthal, –, Babe Ruth, Bob Costas, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Breed, CNN’s Ray Sanchez, Wayne Sterling, Kevin Dotson
Organizations:
CNN, Major League Baseball, Birmingham Black Barons, Negro Leagues, MLB, San Francisco Giants, St, Louis Cardinals, of Famer, Fox, Negro League, Saints, Batiste, Birmingham Barons, St Louis Cardinals, Cardinals, Giants, Neagro League, ” Cardinals, Fox Sports, Major League, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Giants, New York Mets, The Giants, San Francisco Mayor
Locations:
Birmingham, America, “ Birmingham, New York, San Francisco, Birmingham , Alabama, Rickwood