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The Last Giant: The Cultural Clout of Willie Mays

Each summer Sports Illustrated revisits, remembers and rethinks some of the biggest names and most important stories of our sporting past. This year’s WHERE ARE THEY NOW? crop features a Flying Fish and a Captain, jet packs and NFTs, the Commerce Comet and the Say Hey Kid. Come back all week for more.

Willie stayed in. He wouldn’t come out to the little balcony at the top of the staircase outside the elevated center field clubhouse after the New York Giants’ final game at the Polo Grounds in 1957, despite the crowd clamoring for a tip of his famous flyaway cap.