A stretch of Interstate 80 in San Francisco will be renamed after Giants legend Willie Mays, after the California Legislature approved a resolution last week.
Lawmakers approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 169 by State Sens. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) which renames a portion of the roadway “Willie Mays Highway” after the baseball Hall of Famer, who died in June at the age of 93. Introduced in the legislature last month, Dodd said the measure had numerous co-sponsors, including fans of the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
“This is an absolute homerun,” Dodd said in a statement Sunday. “Willie Mays endeared himself to generations of San Francisco Giants fans, including myself, so naming a street near the ballpark after him is the perfect tribute.”
Wiener said, “He broke barriers as one of the first Black players in Major League Baseball, empowering generations of athletes to follow their dreams. It’s only right that we honor him publicly, in the community he loved, and I’m thrilled to present this resolution to do so.”
Known as the “Say Hey Kid”, Mays is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all-time. During his 23 seasons in major leagues, most of them with the New York and San Francisco Giants, Mays was named an All-Star 24 times and won the 1954 World Series with the Giants.
Beginning his career in the Negro Leagues in Alabama, Mays was among the first Black players to be called up to the majors, being named the NL Rookie of the Year in 1951. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
According to Dodd’s office, the stretch of roadway that is being renamed includes where the Bay Bridge enters San Francisco to near Oracle Park. Signs would be paid for by private funding.
“Now generations to come will travel along Willie Mays Highway on the way to watch the Giants while the all-time great in a No. 24 jersey is beaming down from heaven at a grateful city,” Dodd said.