The Day a Fan Thought I was Willie Mays

The writer Harold Michael Harvey, shown here posing during the SIAC All Star Baseball game, May 5, 1973, which pitted the Conference All Stars led by Andre Dawson against the conference champions Tuskegee Institute. Harvey a Tuskegee outfielder reached on a walk in the second inning, stole second base ,scored what ended up being the winning run and made the last put out on a drive to right field to seal a 2–1 Tuskegee win over the Conference All Stars. Photo Credit ©1973 Captain Henry Paul Harvey

Willie Mays, I am not. I had almost forgotten the day a baseball fan thought I was Willie Mays. I like to think that I was a good baseball player when I was in my prime, but no way as proficient with the bat, the glove or as fleet on the base path as the “Say Hey Kid.”

What prompted this reflection is the news that the Atlanta Braves, formerly my hometown team, and the Florida Marlins played a…