At 90 years young, Willie Mays, the oldest living Hall of Famer, has lived a life that others can only dream to have experienced. He’s set multiple MLB records, collected a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has inspired millions with both his play and resilience. He’s the perfect choice for a documentary, and because God is good all the time, he’s now getting one.
According to Deadline, it will be HBO Sports, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted, Major League Baseball, and Zipper Bros Films that will combine superpowers to produce a documentary about one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport.
From Deadline:
The deep dive film will of course have archival footage of that amazing display by Mays in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, baseball’s Golden Age and a career that spanned from 1951 to 1973 on the field. However, I hear, it will also include contemporary interviews and reflection on Mays and his trailblazing influence in and outside baseball too. Perhaps even a certain POTUS may have something to say … as he did today.
The announcement was made on Mays’ birthday, which falls on May 6, and the former Negro League superstar sounds delighted to finally share his story on film.
“Some say that throughout my life I have inspired others, but the truth is that so many have done this for me,” Mays told Deadline. “My teammates, my friends, and of course the fans mean so much to me. And so I hope this documentary can give back to all of them something enjoyable and inspiring in return.”
“Willie Mays is an American icon, a prime example of black excellence and baseball’s greatest player,” director Nelson George said in a statement. “It’s an honor to be able to chronicle his journey from the Negro Leagues in Alabama, stardom with the Giants in Harlem and to the game’s apex in San Francisco.”
Production has already begun on the film, and it’s expected to premiere on HBO sometime next year before finding a permanent home on HBO Max.
DISCUSSION
This got me thinking about how recently in history all of the stuff he and his peers did actually was. Not even a full life time ago. Yet it gets treated like Mays was riding a dinosaur to his games.