This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 6/25/2015.
After a stint in the service, Hall of Famer Willie Mays returned to organized baseball with the New York Giants in 1954 for what may have been his best season. Mays hit .345 and slammed 41 home runs, as he won his only batting title that season and was named the National League Most Valuable Player. He helped the Giants secure the National League pennant and lead them to the 1954 World Series. The Giants swept the Cleveland Indians in four games to capture the championship and Mays made his most memorable snag in the outfield known as "The Catch". The iconic catch features Mays making a sensational game-winning, running catch in center field during Game One of the World Series, snaring a long drive by Vic Wertz near the outfield wall with his back to the infield. Mays is acknowledged by many as perhaps the best five-tool player ever and ended his career with 660 home runs, third on the all time list at the time of his retirement. This black wool baseball cap has the orange interlocking "NY" Giants logo embroidered on the front. The inner leather band has the "Tim McAuliffe" manufacturer's tag sewn into the rear. Willie Mays has signed the underside of the bill in black marker. Cap shows heavy game use, with wear and sweat stains on the inner leather band and broken cardboard in the bill. There is a tear on the green cloth on the underside of the bill, that goes through the "ays" in "Mays", in our opinion the signature rates a 3. Accompanied by a LOA from JSA as well as a copy of a letter from the Polo Grounds bat boy who also acquired two 1954 World Series bats, one from Willie Mays and another from Alvin Dark.