Willie Mays mural
The Willie Mays mural is a large painted mural honoring Hall of Fame baseball great Willie Mays on the 100-foot-long by 50-foot-tall west wall of the Birmingham National Garage at 1813–1819 1st Avenue North in downtown Birmingham. It was commissioned in 2024 by Major League Baseball and T-Mobile as part of the MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues event.
The mural was laid out and prepped by Colossal Media of Brooklyn, New York. The portrait of Mays at the center of the mural, based on a 1948 photograph of Mays in his Birmingham Black Barons uniform, was executed by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based artist Chuck Styles.
Mays was invited to attend the June 20 game between his San Francisco Giants and the St Louis Cardinals at Rickwood. On the morning of June 18 he sent his regrets, citing poor health. He died hours later. The mural became a memorial before it was dedicated on June 19, with speakers such as Giants CEO Larry Baer and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin eulogizing him.
References
- Kent, Audrey (June 14, 2024) "New York-based painting company plans to knock Willie Mays mural out of the park." Bham Now
- Goodman, Joseph (June 19, 2024) "Randall Woodfin delivers moving tribute to Willie Mays." AL.com
- Crenshaw, Solomon Jr (June 20, 2024) "Baseball Giant Willie Mays Immortalized With Mural in Downtown Birmingham." The Birmingham Times