Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays to speak at

SMU Athletic Forum Luncheon

            DALLAS, TEXAS – The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum welcomes Willie Mays to Dallas on Wednesday, October 17.

            The Citi Luncheon will take place at noon in the Khmer Pavilion of The Hilton Anatole at noon. Media may cover the luncheon; the program begins at 12:30 p.m.

            Willie Mays is widely considered the best all-around player in the history of Major League Baseball. Mays famously patrolled center field for the New York and San Francisco Giants throughout the fifties and sixties. The two-time league MVP was a career .302 hitter who also hit for power. Mays’ 660 career homeruns rank him fourth on the all-time MLB homerun list. Mays won 12 Gold Gloves, and in the 1954 World Series, he made one of the most famous defensive plays in baseball history which is simply known as “the catch.” The “Say Hey Kid” also had great speed, stealing over 300 bases in his career. Mays’ unique combination of speed and power is evidenced by the fact that he was the first player to ever hit 50 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season. Mays was a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee, and his number 24 was officially retired by the Giants.

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Honoring the legends of sports for 18 years, the Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum celebrates outstanding success in athletics.  Based in Dallas, the series features major figures from a variety of sports.  The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum includes four luncheons and the prestigious Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet.