Dear Thomas Jefferson: Willie Mays

Freedom and Human Rights

Dear Thomas Jefferson,

When we were talking about enslaved people and the impact slavery has had on this country, we did not discuss how long after you were the President it would take people in this country to accept freedom and human rights for everyone in the country.

Today, we all woke up to the news that Willie Mays had died at 93 years old.  He was a baseball Hall of Famer and a recipient of the Presidential Metal of Freedom.  His New York Times obituary says that he was the embodiment of the complete player.  It said that his exuberant style of play and an effervescent personality made him into one of America’s most charismatic figures.  The obituary called him a national treasure.

There is a different story about Willie Mays that I want to talk to you about.  It was briefly mentioned in the NYTimes obituary, but I think it needs more attention.

In 1957, the New York Giants baseball team moved to San Francisco.  It was front page news all over the country.  Willie Mays was 27 years old.  He was a spectacular center-fielder on that team.  The fans called him ‘The Say Hey Kid.’  The fans loved him.

While he was loved and celebrated on the ball field, many people did not want him to live in their neighborhood.

The headlines of the San Francisco Chronicle on November 14, 1957 screamed the truth.

Willie Mays Is Denied S.F. House—Race Issue

When the ‘Say Hey Kid’ tried to buy a house in San Francisco, he ran into what was then called ‘the color barrier.’  He offered to pay the asking price, $37,500, to buy a house on Miraloma Drive in San Francisco, an affluent neighborhood that was next to St Francis Wood.

The offer was first accepted by the owner, but then rejected when the neighbors learned about the sale and put pressure on the seller to back out of the deal. 

The owner himself said: "Certainly, I objected. I happen to have quite a few pieces of property in that area, and I stand to lose a lot if colored people move in. I certainly wouldn't like to have a colored family near me."

Ultimately, Willie Mays did move into the Miraloma house, but a year and a half later when a bottle containing a racial hate note crashed through the front window, he sold the house and moved back to New York. 

In 1963, Mays moved back to San Francisco to a different neighborhood. The youngest neighbors were thrilled, but they remember their parents’ disapproval that was unmistakable and vocal behind closed doors.  During that same time, Willie Mays also tried to buy a house on Barbara Way in Hillsborough.  He was also barred from that sale.

What do you think of a famous sports hero being cheered on the field and then being unable to find a place to live?

As a country, we like to think that things like that don’t happen anymore. Unfortunately, that is not true.  Just last month, the New York Times published an article about a doctor who was in escrow on a new home when “she was told the seller didn’t want to hand over the keys to a Black person.”

Let’s get together soon and talk about race, housing, sports, freedom, and human rights for all.

Sincerely,

Katy Dalgleish