Baseball Giant Willie Mays Immortalized With Mural in Downtown Birmingham

By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. | The Birmingham Times For years to come, passersby and visitors and residents will get a chance to see the signature smile of baseball giant and Birmingham icon Willie Mays flashed from his rookie year all the way to the baseball Hall of Fame. With Mays having passed away Tuesday night at the age of 93, that smile was immortalized in downtown Birmingham on a mural commissioned by Major League Baseball and T-Mobile. The painting, near the intersection of First Avenue North and 18th Street, shows the legendary outfielder with his hands on his knees while grinning from ear to ear. The mural dedication on Wednesday afternoon is one of many events tied to MLB at Rickwood Field, which is Major League Baseball’s recognition of the Negro Leagues from which Mays blossomed. The first of three games at the century-old ballpark – the Minor League contest between the Birmingham Barons and the Montgomery Biscuits on Tuesday – was interrupted with the jarring news that Mays had passed away. The week of special events culminates Thursday when the San Francisco Giants, Mays’s former team, faces the St. Louis Cardinals. Chuck Styles painted the mural of Willie May...