A bronze statue of baseball player Willie Mays was unveiled outside the main entrance of Oracle Park, in San Francisco, California on March 31, 2000.
A native of Westfield, Alabama, Mays is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of baseball.
The statue is located in front of the ballpark entrance at 24 Willie Mays Plaza and is surrounded with 24 palm trees, in honor of his uniform number 24 which was retired by the San Francisco Giants.
[2] Initially, Magowan wanted to depict Mays' famous catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series but Mays objected, later telling the San Francisco Chronicle that if the statue were to be accurately positioned in relation to the field, the "back end is going to be sticking out coming into the ballpark."
[2] Upon Mays' death on June 18, 2024, baseball fans left tributes and paid their respects at the base of the statue which became an informal memorial.