(NOTE TO READERS: As 2025 begins, here’s one more look back at the best Journal content of 2024. Award-winning columnist John James Marshall wrote this for our June 21 edition.)
When Willie Mays passed away earlier this week, I was reminded of a time I saw him and, even more memorably, a time I didn’t see him.
This may be hard to believe for those who don’t go back that far, but in the late 1960s, there were exhibition games played in Shreveport by Major League Baseball teams. In those days, teams would leave Spring Training and play two or three games in various locations on their way back to their home cities before the start of the season.
In 1967, the Cleveland Indians played the Cincinnati Reds at SPAR Stadium (the predecessor to Fair Grounds Field). I was in attendance that day as a seven-year-old and have a number of stories from that day that I’ll save for another time.
In 1968, the Oakland Athletics played Cincinnati and I was in attendance that day as well. (More stories to tell later but here’s the spoiler alert – I got Joe DiMaggio’s autograph that day).
In 1969, Cleveland came back to SPAR Stadium, this time to play the San Francisco Giants. Sadly, I was not in attendance and here’s why: The fourth grade got in my way.
The first two exhibition games had been played on Saturdays, so that was easy. But the ’69 game was on a Wednesday afternoon. We knew the nuns at St. Joseph probably weren’t going to look too fondly on “Going to See Willie Mays” as an excused absence.
However, the two biggest Mays fans I knew – public school refugees — did finagle their way to SPAR Stadium that day and were treated to hearing this over the PA system: “Leading off and playing center field for the Giants … No. 24 … Willie Mays.”
Think about that for a moment. Right here in Shreveport.
By the way, he wasn’t the only future Hall of Famer in that game. Willie McCovey batted cleanup and Gaylord Perry was the starting pitcher for the Giants.
Willie didn’t waste any time – he swung at the first pitch and flew out to center field — and also took a called third strike to go with two walks in four at bats. He had the third-best day of the three Hall of Famers on the field. McCovey hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and Perry pitched a complete game (kids, ask your parents what that is) in a 9-2 win.
Except it wasn’t really a complete game.
In one of the most Shreveport things ever, the game had to be shortened to seven innings because the bank of lights in left field wouldn’t come on.
Fans of Willie will note an interesting foreshadowing that took place in the exhibition game. Mays, one of the greatest defensive players of all time, made an error when he collided at the fence in right-center field with Bobby Bonds, the Giants’ right fielder (and father of Barry).
One year and eight days later, the same two players would have a similar collision at Candlestick Park that is one of the most famous defensive plays in history.
A crowd estimated at 6,000, including my friends who has escaped public school that day, showed up at SPAR Stadium for the exhibition game. In another try-doing-this-these-days moment, one of them recalled in a text to me how he pulled off one of the greatest moves by a nine-year-old in autograph history.
I remember rehearsing what I would say to Willie if I got the chance. Each inning he would run straight into the dugout. In the 5th, he stopped to tie his shoe and that is when I approached him and told him he was the greatest. He smiled, signed above his picture in the program and then shook my hand … I think mine was the only autograph he signed that day. The day I met Willie Mays remains one of the highlights of my life.
Almost 20 years later, I came face-to-face with Willie Mays when I was covering Spring Training for the Shreveport Captains, the Class AA affiliate of the Giants. Mays had recently been named as Assistant to the General Manager after being out of baseball because of a ruling by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.
I somehow struck up enough nerve to ask for an interview and he was more than willing to talk. He remembered the exhibition game, especially SPAR Stadium. “That was an old, old park back then,” he said. “I understand you got a new ball park (Fair Grounds Field). Is that other one still around?”
Fast forward that to today and that quote takes on a whole new meaning.
“I’ve got a lot of friends in Shreveport,” he told me. “I used to come there all the time to play ball (in the 1950s).”
I’m sure I asked some other inane questions because all I could think about was I’m actually interviewing Willie Mays.
It was certainly five minutes that I will never forget. My childhood friend had five seconds he will never forget.
Legends have a way of doing that.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com
