Obama praises Mays, Robinson on Mays' 90th birthday

Statue of Willie Mays outside of Oracle Park. Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Barack Obama praises Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson on Mays' 90th birthday

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 5/6/21

Hall of Famer and baseball royalty Willie Mays, "The Say Hey Kid," turned 90 years old on Thursday and was honored by MLB , clubs and fans. President Barack Obama is arguably the most famous individual to send his best wishes, and he also thanked Jackie Robinson, who famously broke MLB's color barrier in 1947.

Happy 90th birthday to Willie Mays! If it wasn't for folks like Willie and Jackie Robinson, I might never have made it to the White House. The spirit he played with and the way he carried himself changed the game and people’s attitudes. I’m glad he’s still going strong. pic.twitter.com/DTlRlart5U
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 6, 2021

Last July, Dan D'Addona of the Holland Sentinel wrote that Mays "was the first Black superstar in the game after Jackie Robinson, and was more beloved than Robinson." Mays earned 24 All-Star nods, two Most Valuable Player Awards and one World Series championship during his historic career. He also completed what remains the most well-known catch of any made in a Fall Classic game back in 1954:

President Obama honored Mays with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2015:

Zac Wassink is a football and futbol aficionado who is a PFWA member and is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. Erik Lamela and Eli Manning apologist. Chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. Whoops. You can find him on Twitter at @ZacWassink.

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