Willie Howard Mays Jr. was born on May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama. Raised in a predominantly African American community in Fairfield, a suburb of Birmingham, Mays displayed remarkable athletic prowess from a young age. His father, Willie Sr., was a talented baseball player in the Negro Leagues, and his mother, Annie Satterwhite, was a champion sprinter. This blend of athletic genes and a supportive environment cultivated Willie’s early interest and talent in baseball. Mays began his professional career in 1948 at age 17 with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos, a Negro minor league team.