off. tonight, we remember the say hey kid, willie mays died at the age of 93. his family said he passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones, just two days before a game to honor negro baseball team. vern glenn joining me to reflect on the legend of incredible player and person >> his high school did not have a baseball team. he displayed his love for the game. ha full attitude. his presence. you knew he was there. then, that cackle. all through the room. people would look because you could feel just how much he loved the game, he loved being around people, loved telling stories, sara, he called me peewee. willie mays, just n my mind,

the greatest five-tool player. hit, hit with power, run, throw, field. he was great. let's honor the man. deep to left. playback, playback, playback. number 600 for willie mays >> to say willie mays was a great baseball player was an under statement. you can not mention the five greatest of all-time without him. born in 1931, son of a steel millworker, mays learned the game at an early age. his alabamhigh school had no baseball team it was clear that sport would define him. at 16 he was playing for the birmingham black barons of the negro leagues, the day after he graduated high school he signed with the new york giants and age 20 he was in the majors playing games at the polo grounds, that was 1951. his career was put on hold because

of military service. 1954, he was back in a baseball uniform doing what he did best. >> way back, back, back it is gone! >> his over the shoulder catch in the win in cleveland is still considered by plane the greatest catch in the game. he was the most valuable player in 1954 >> i think i got you. did you hit your 31st home run today? do you play center field? do you say, hey willie mays? [ laughter ] >> it was his bat that did a lot of the talking. for eight years running he drove it over 100 runs. his 660 career runs is fourth all-time. career batting average was .302. by 1958 the giants moved from new york to san francisco. >> from the wonderful world of sports we bring you home run

derby. >> high fly ball, center field t is way back there and gone into the right center field bleachers. >> reporter: he led them to the 1962 world series and became team captain in 1974. that was followed by another mvp award in 1965. almost 40 years after he retired in 1973 as a new york met, he was considered baseball's greatest living ballplayer. a label at which he took offense. >> i never liked that. no. if you are the greatest ballplayer you are the greatest ballplayer, not living ballplayer what good is that? i heard that when i first heard it i don't know if you were around when i first heard it, wait a minute. you know. you mean i got to be passed away before you guys give me credit for doing something? >> reporter: he was inducted. >> i arrive friday, scared to death with three bats, my

glove, i did not have a uniform, not a hat. leo said to me, son, as long as i am manager you are my center fielder. you do not have to hit, just go out and catch the ball and from those words from leo, i think, gave me a little courage. >> when at&t park first opened a landmark statue in his honor at 3rd and king streets in san francisco. by then, his god son, berry bonds was setting home run records of his own. when bonds passed mays on the career home run list, mays there was to pass on the torch >> no secret how special you are to me. and i thank you for your love, guidance and support of me all of these years. while my dad is not here to celebrate with me, it means the world to me that you are. and i love you. >> reporter: after san francisco won the world series

in 2010, mays returned to new york to share the title with giant fans there. the polo grounds stadium is gone but the streets where he played stick ball there was. >> he could throw and he could field, hit for contact and for power and of course he was so fast, he could barely keep a hat on his head. [ cheers and applause ] . >> willie mays, the say hey, kid. >> say hey, say willie. >> reporter: his position in the history of baseball will live on forever. >> there is activity going on right now where he made his greatness back in birmingham, alabama, where he grew up. dusty baker is there, his godson, berry bonds is there. we talked off camera, what player plays like him? barry bonds, five tool player k do it all. there is activity doing it there today, tomorrow, the giants fly in and play the

cardinals on thursday. all of this to the man that is gone this afternoon. >> this news just broke a little while ago. lauren toms is out at oracle park near willie mays plaza. fans need time to make their way in. you have seen a couple people stop by already? >> reporter: yes. sara, we have, tributes are pouring out for willie mays here at willie mays plaza beneath the statue of the say hey kid. we have seen people to come out and place flowers and say a prayer, share their thoughts about what willie mays means to them. we are seeing the impact, the multigenerational impact. people coming out with their families, one of those fans is with me right now. i am joined now. what brought you out here today? >> you know, we were here for a

family vacation and were here, looked up at the tv screen and it said he passed away. i could not believe it. eerie feeling especially having direct eye line sight of his statue here. just a sad day >> what does the legend, the impact of willie mays really mean to you? >> i mean, former mvp, 24 all-star appearances, the list goes on in terms of the accolades he racked up. i am a diehard dodger fan but you have to respect what that man did. and then when you talk about a black athlete at the time he played on the eve of juneteenth, he paved the way for a lot of the athletes that you see today, especially in mlb. mooky bets, he is one. >> he is a legend >> yes, he is. thank you. we are seeing more and more families show up. a couple people get on one knee, bow

their heads, show their appreciation for the legend that is willie mays. like i said his legend spans generations and he is and will always be a huge part of the fabric. not only of the giants but of fans across the bay area, sara? >> yes, lauren. wow, what a prolific statement. >> we looked at each other when he brought up the eve of juneteenth. to his point, he i' ssjor leue baseball and sports. reactionpouring in all over the place. anne makoc. >> we are hearing from his real family and giants family. first in the past hour the announcement coming from rick woodfield, that is where he played his first games in the negro league. >> it is with great sadness

that giants legend hall of famer willie mays passed away at the age of 93. here we are in a celebration in a ballpark where he got his start as a 17-year-old playing for the black barons. he was 17 when he joined them and they won the negro league american league that year. willie mays has passed away. [crying] . >> all right, back at home, san francisco mayor london-breed releasing a statement over the past half-hour to a native san francisco some things go without question, it is foggy, cable cars go halfway to the stars and willie mays is the best there ever was. meant to much staying involve in san

francisco and giants long after he retired from the game he loved. willie mays will be the greatest of giants in story of san francisco. giants saying from his son michael, i want to thank you from the bottom of my broken heart the love. you have been his life's blood. larry, the giant's president and ceo saying i fell in love with baseball because of willie, plain and simple. i went to candlestick with my dad, watching willie patrol center field. over the past several years working with him and his zest for life and unbrightal compassion for giving to kids has been one of the joys of my life. giant's chairman, today we lost a true legend in baseball greats. illy mays combination of tremendous talent, intellect, showmen and joy set him apart. the 24-time

all-star, the say hey kid is the ultimate forever giant. he had an influence not only on the game of baseball but on the fabric of america. inspiration and a hero that will be forever remembered and deeply missed. >> and mlb, incredible achievements and statistics do not begin to describe the awe that came with watching willie mays dominate the game in every way imaginable. we will never forget this true giant, off and on the field. thursday's game at rick woodfield was designed to be a celebration of willie mays and his peers with sadness in our hearts it will now serve as a national remembrance of an american who will forever remain on the short list of the most impactful individuals our great game has ever known. we are going to keep bringing you remembrances all night. share your memories with us by tagging us at kpix, sara? >> all right, there, anne.

this is one of those things where we will all know where we were when we heard the news of the passing of willie mays. just how he just touched everybody. those statements were powerful statements, many of those native san francisco who show would up, mays to his credit would acknowledge as many of them as he could. that was the way the guy was. when we and back, the reaction on the passing of willie mays, stay with us

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. welcome back to continuing coverage of willie mays. there is the man, many images that we see of him with fans, the smile

on his face. we are going to go now to a man who interviewed him countless times. it is marty lowry. marty you are in birmingham, alabama. you were at rick woodfield earlier. what was it like down there when the news came out? >> certainly, vern, being at rick wood field is ironic to be here on this day. i was not at rick wood when the news came out. but boy since it has come out they did the tribute, of course, the minor league is on mlb tonight with rich wal is, h doing that with chris young. i got the text from rich about the awful news. being here at rick wood field is going to

have tributes to him, to be here and realize that is where he played center field a high school kid. and then i was thnegro southern league muse today in birmingham and of course there is a beautiful tribute towillie there cause willie's career started when his dad used to drive him to chattanooga. he used to play there, as a 10th grader. the black baron saw him saying no, no, you have to play in birmingham. to be here today and then to hear the news it is just willie had a sense of a great moment and he picked a great moment today. it is a tremendous loss for everybody who knew him. everyone who saw him play and everyone knew him in his later life. he is a wonderful man. look i am a kid from brooklyn. who would of thought he would of chosen me

to be his interviewer on the numerous shows we did in front of countless audiences. losing willie is bad for everybody. i have gotten text and tweets from people all over the world today talking about willie. it is a great loss, it is. and thursday night. this game will be dedicated to willie and believe me, the crowd will certainly be on its feet with a lot of heavy hearts. >> you just gave us volumes of information and reaction marty from the countless times that you were with him. in i can just leave you with this, if you could share with me, just, maybe just the one nugget that you were able to get out of him. you could pull things out of an interview that a lot of these other writers and scribes couldn't. >> well, a couple things, he was a great show man with a great sense of humor. nicest

guy in the world. he understood when you bring someone into meet him. when my son would come in, hey, can't you shake hands harder than that? he had a little something for everybody. the one moment for me was in palm spris. and, willie and i were doing a there. it was part of senatra foundation. i would interview willie for 20 or 30 minutes before the audience. about 1,000 people, al rosen was there at that time as well. we got to the end of the interview and i never asked him this question before. we had done so many interviews we knew what we would say. i never asked him i, willie how would you like to be remembered by the fans. boy, for the first time he started

to cry. and the tears were coming out of his eyes and i am standing there next to him. i did not know what to do and he said, i always want to be remembered that i was there for them. that i put on the show for them. that i loved the fans and everything that i did was for them. and it is ironic today to say those words because today he has got to be remembered by everyone. that is how he wanted to be remembered. a show man, someone who gave his best effort and all for the fans. for him to break down in front of me and in front of 1,000 people to say that was the most moving moment i ever had with him and that i have ever had in all of the years that i have done this. that is the one that i will take forever >> we will let go out with that. thank you very much for those words and hey, while you are down there, just enjoy and embrace the experience of being

there. thank you very much, marty. >> thanks, vern, thanks for asking. still ahead, much more reaction to the passing of willie mays, after the break

hey, flex. considering there's a heatwave, it's kinda chilly in here. oh, that's because i'm pre-cooling the house with the ac before 4 pm. then i'll turn our thermostat to a comfortable 78 or higher that way i could stay cool later. ooh, what about me? you're never cool. oh. in light of it being such a big day with the passing of willie mays. we are going to take a brief moment here. we are keeping track of an

important item in the if you noticed the haze in the sky that is another plume of smoke coming off of the sites fire and just a quick review. we got moderate air quality for most of us today. the bay area air quality has under air quality alert. you see what it looks like from mount diablo. give you an idea for tomorrow, onshore breeze, air quality should improve tomorrow. and that is probably the most important part of this whole forecast. since i have 20 seconds with you left here before we get back to our coverage, let me show what you to expect for the seven-day forecast. a nice cool down tomorrow. down to about 77. these are your inland numbers. enjoy it. marine layer is coming back. we will have cleaner air but warm back up again. all bets are off as the temperatures climb to the middle 90s. we could pull more smoke. stay smoke aware. keep you updated on air quality as

we go through this. for now, we will get back to sara and vern and more coverage. >> thank you very much. continuing our coverage honoring the life of willie mays, we reached out to another one of san francisco's beloved willie, willie brown. asking him about willie mays impact. >> i never would think he would die, frankly. he was such an awesome american figure. particularly, african american figure. purely from that standpoint, i don't think there is anyone in the history of african american sports that matches the nature of willie mays. he was clearly a true athlete. he was an incredible gentleman. in the nature of how

he did what he did when he said i will play for the giants in san francisco. and, he had to go through trials and tribulations of an african american trying to live in the city where they had limitations that they denied willie mays triversed all of that and changed how the nation treated baseball players. that is the history of willie mays. >> very impressive. he had such an impact on the city of san francisco, beyond just the game of baseball. >> i know we are going down another aspect of him but now one thing that just triggered during our interview. willie mays, if you ever shook his hand you remembered it. he did not just shake your hand. not a limp hand. he would squeeze, he would crush your hand on a

handshake. i mean he would try, after he shook your hand and walked away it would be like -- ow! >> yes. ywe expect it. it was his last major public appearance back in may. and the oldest living hall of famer. this was a huge celebration at oracle park. fans had a chance to see him and wave at him. >> there he is. soaking it all in. when he tipped his cap, he did not really mean it. yeah, he would put on a show for the fans but there is really heartfelt of him, you know, being honored and just, just soaking in the love and sharing just being at the ballpark. this was, this was his playground, it was his office but it was his playground at the same time >> he was beloved at oracle. he

was presented. >> he can throw, field, hit for contact and for power and of course he was so fast he could barely keep a hat on his head. on top of that, he served our country. e selling on america's biggest stages carried forward the banner of civil rights. >> all of major league baseball giants fans wherever they are. baseball fans wherever they are in the entire bay area mourning the passing of willie mays who passed away at the age of 93. >> before we sign off, there are legions of giants fans thinking of, gosh, a time they met him, maybe almost met him. did not get a chance to meet him. now, we have memories and images of the say hey kid. >> much more coverage on the

passing of willie mays coming up on the news at 8:00 on pix plus, 44, cable 12 and back here at 11:00

announcer: it's time to play "family feud." give it up for steve harvey. steve: you wear 'em pretty, boy. welcome to the show. thank y'all. i appreciate you. thank you very much.