BASEBALL HALL OF Famer Willie Mays has died aged 93, his family have announced.

A statement from the family, issued by his former club the San Francisco Giants, said he “passed away peacefully and among loved ones” yesterday.

The 24-time All-Star was known as the ‘Say Hey Kid’, and was the oldest living Hall of Famer.

Former US president Barack Obama was among those to pay tribute to Mays, who was the first Black person to captain a Major League Baseball team.

“Willie Mays wasn’t just a singular athlete, blessed with an unmatched combination of grace, skill and power,” said Obama.

Willie Mays wasn’t just a singular athlete, blessed with an unmatched combination of grace, skill and power. He was also a wonderfully warm and generous person - and an inspiration to an entire generation. I’m lucky to have spent time with him over the years, and Michelle and I… pic.twitter.com/tpO3O9B9yc

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 19, 2024

“He was also a wonderfully warm and generous person – and an inspiration to an entire generation.

“I’m lucky to have spent time with him over the years, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family.”

Obama had awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mays in 2015.

Meanwhile, San Francisco Giants chairperson Greg Johnson remarked that “we have lost a true legend” and he praised Mays for his “combination of tremendous talent, keen intellect, showmanship and boundless joy set him apart”.

Mays hit 660 home runs in his career, still ranks sixth on the all-time list.

He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, becoming only the ninth player to be voted in during his first year of eligibility.

Mays was born on 6 May, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama, growing up in the era of segregation.

At 16, he joined the Birmingham Barons of the Negro American League, which was one of several leagues created during the time that organised baseball was segregated.

The New York Giants purchased his contract in 1950 and in 1957, the New York Giants folded and moved to San Francisco the following season.

He continued playing for the revamped San Francisco Giants until 1972, before playing out his final season for the New York Mets.

“I can never understand how some players are always talking about baseball being hard work,” Mays once said.

“To me, it’s always been a pleasure, even when I feel sort of draggy after a doubleheader.”