The San Francisco Chronicle covered Willie Mays 1960 exhibition game in Fresno. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)
- Willie Mays made several appearances in Fresno during his life.
- Mays hit a homer in a 1960 exhibition game against the Dodgers.
- He also made two appearances at Fresno Grizzlies games.
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Willie Mays drew what was then the largest baseball crowd in Fresno history, when 6,532 fans packed John Euless Park to watch the Giants and Dodgers play an exhibition game on April 10, 1960.
As legendary San Francisco Chronicle writer Bob Stevens described it, “Fans overflowed onto the field, jammed roof tops back of the fences, hung from the trees and telephone poles and squatted precariously atop the surrounding walls.”
Mays, delivered, hitting a two-run homer in the first, batting 2-for-4, as the Giants won 13-10.
Fresno landed that game and several other major-league exhibitions in the 1960s because the city hosted San Francisco’s California League affiliate at Euless Park, now known as Fresno City College Baseball Park.
With a park capacity of about 3,000, the “Little Giants” management placed rows of chairs in front of the outfield wall and designated standing-room-only zones to accommodate more spectators.
During those days and continuing through the 1980s, Fresno was a pipeline to San Francisco, as future Giants such as Jim Ray Hart, “Downtown” Ollie Brown, Jack Clark, and Will Clark played here in town.
The 1960 game was one of several appearances Mays made in Fresno during his lifetime.
The all-time baseball great died Tuesday at the age of 93.
Related Story: Remembering Willie Mays: Reactions From the Sports World and Beyond
Mays and the Grizzlies
Mays made two appearances with the Fresno Grizzlies.
The team shared pictures of Mays appearances on June 24, 2002 — more than seven weeks after the team’s new downtown stadium known today as Chukchansi Park opened — and June 7, 2009.
“The Grizzlies will be honored to welcome the world’s greatest living ballplayer to Chukchansi Park on Willie Mays Tribute Day. The Giants’ Hall of Famer will be in attendance as the organization honors his career throughout Sunday’s matinee contest. While Mays will not be signing autographs for the general public, fans can visit FresnoGrizzlies.com to learn about the only ways they can be selected to win a private meet-and-greet with the ‘Say Hey Kid,” a team news release said for the 2009 event.
GV Wire research also found that Mays made at least one appearance at an unknown date at baseball hot stove events hosted by Al Radka.
The Fresno Grizzlies paid tribute to Mays with a moment of silence prior to Tuesday’s game vs. Stockton.
@FresnoGrizzlies honor #WillieMays with a pre-game moment of silence pic.twitter.com/AgDbG4qwLH
— David Taub (@TaubGVWire) June 19, 2024
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