Maury Wills - News

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Article from Beckett.com about Maury's visit to Donruss Trading Cards headquarters

Taken from an article on Beckett.com August 2004

Legendary Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills visited the Donruss Trading Cards' headquarters in Arlington, Texas, recently to address employees and sign autographs during the monthly company meeting.

Wills, the 1962 NL MVP and the first player in major league history to steal more than 100 bases in a season (104 in 1962 to break Ty Cobb's record), regaled company employees with his tales of emerging from the Washington, D.C., housing projects to realize two dreams: Playing professional baseball and doing so for the Dodgers.

He preached the importance of persistence and passion, and implored Donruss employees to pursue their careers with the utmost in both qualities, just as he did his.

Maury Minutes... Some interesting tidbits and quotes gleaned from Wills' visit to the Donruss Trading Cards office? In addition to his $500 signing bonus, Wills' first contract paid him $130 a month and $1.25 a day for meal money. "And I would do it again. That was the love for the game." ? "Bobby Bragan came along and taught me how to switch hit because I was strictly a right-handed hitter. I could do everything but I was afraid of the curve. Not being able to hit that curve ball was the thing that was keeping me from going to the major leagues. I never would have made it [without Bobby Bragan]." ? "I'm already so grateful, I live a life of gratitude. I'm grateful for what measure of success I've been able to realize. I know that all those good things that happened to me in my life didn't come just because of myself; maybe a lot of it came in spite of myself." ? Playing in the Venezuelan Winter League in 1959, Wills stole 41 bases in 42 attempts, earning the nickname "El Fantasma," Spanish for phantom or ghost. ? "I played in parts of the country where I couldn't eat with my teammates, couldn't sleep in the same places where my teammates slept," Wills says. "Even that would not discourage me; I was just determined. Besides, I grew up in the projects. I had eight sisters and four brothers; we slept four or five in the bed. Growing up not having much, I wanted to continue to get better. I didn't mind a little bit of hardship. I was driven. That's the thing that kept me going for eight and a half years in the minors."

"I knew I wanted to be a major leaguer and that dream was so powerful that it kept me from becoming discouraged," he said. Wills, one of 13 siblings, went without shoes for much of his childhood and spent more than seven years in the minor leagues before being called up to the Dodgers in 1959. Once there, he helped the Dodgers win three World Series titles, stole 586 bases and was a seven-time All-Star, including the game's MVP in 1962.

A chance encounter with former Washington Senators infielder Jerry Priddy in 1947 provided Wills the inspiration and belief that he could make it to the major leagues.

"When I was 8 years old playing on the playgrounds and Priddy came by the sandlot and gave us a clinic, I was so impressed with him and the way he took a personal interest," Wills recalls. "He singled me out and said I had a chance to be a good ballplayer one day. It impressed me so much and I just became obsessed with wanting to be a major league player. I wanted to be like he was; and nice, too. I acquired a desire to be a nice person based on how that man was to me and my buddies.

"Anytime I get a chance to interact with kids, I have this feeling that maybe I can be their Jerry Priddy."

As a talented high school athlete, Wills could've been virtually anything he wanted. At the age of 17, he eschewed nine scholarship offers to play college football and instead signed with the Dodgers for a $500 bonus.

"By this time I'd heard about Jackie Robinson and I knew I wanted to play for the Dodgers," Wills says. "I think every black person in America wanted to play for the Dodgers. I told all my buddies, 'I'm going to be with Jackie in about two years.'

" Two years turned into eight, and by the time Wills reached the big leagues Robinson had retired. But Wills remained undeterred, emboldened by the passion and perseverance instilled in him by Priddy so many years before.

Wills' big break came at the expense of another in 1959. When Dodgers shortstop Don Zimmer fractured his toe, LA called upon Wills to save the day.

"My definition of a break is when opportunity meets preparation," said Wills, a lifetime .281 hitter who recorded 150 or more hits in a season 11 times. "I kept preparing myself and when the opportunity came, I was ready for it. I could've been discouraged and given up, and when Zimmer got his toe broken, I never would've been ready.

"They called me up on June 6, 1959, and in two and half years I was the captain of the team."

A Hall of Fame-caliber player whose numbers compare favorably with other enshrined middle infielders, Wills says he doesn't hold a grudge about Cooperstown's omission so far, and his fate now rests with the veteran's committee, which elects players every two years.

"Last year [2003], the day before the balloting came out, the Dodgers had an exhibition game," Wills says. "When the game was over they called all the players, executives, managers and coaches to home plate and they pulled me in the middle. And they said, 'Maury, tomorrow we'll get the word, but we want you to know, no matter what, one way or the other, you're our Hall of Famer.' "Cooperstown, when I do get in there, is going to be great, but it can't make me feel any better."

Ted Barker
Donruss Playoff
817 983 0329 (corporate office)
972 418 6018 (home office)
817 983 0429 (fax)

tbarker@donruss.com

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Did you know Maury

-was the first person to steal over 100 bases in a season, with 104 in 1962

-was the 1961 & 1962 winner of the Gold Glove Award

-was the 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, & 1965 leader in stolen bases

-was the 1962 National League Most Valuable Player