Praise

I found Mr. Hayes’ book "14 Going on 24: Growing Up With Willie Mays" a wonderfully nostalgic trek through the subtle real-life nuances of our national pastime and its historical social influences. His ability to capture the cultural significance of my father’s character and impact as narrated through the Forrest Gump-like eyes of his central character was heartwarming.

– -- Michael Mays, son of Willie, screenwriter, Founder/Chairman of the Youth Rescue Project

Larry Hayes has written a splendid book on Willie Mays. It’s fiction, yet when you read through the pages of "14 Going On 24: Growing Up With Willie Mays", it feels real, as if you were side by side with the characters, including the Say Hey Kid himself. The author has keen knowledge and insight on Mays, so much so that some of the specifics he provides are known only by a select few.

– -- John Shea, national sportswriter and co-author (with Willie Mays) of The New York Times best-seller — 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid.

Larry Hayes is an exceptional baseball researcher, but this book goes far beyond the archives. It beautifully weaves the story of baseball’s grip on a teenager growing up in 1950s New York City with themes of heroes, friendship, and the enduring legacy of one of the game’s all-time greats. This book succeeds not only in its rich historical detail but also in illuminating the lesser-known interpersonal qualities of the great Willie Mays.

– -- Dan Massey, Mensa member & 5-time Society for America Baseball Research (SABR) trivia champion.

I loved the clever chapter titles (a lost art!) and enjoyed watching the relationship of James and Willie develop and seeing that intertwined with the relationship that James and his mother had in their love of his father. It was really well-written and well-paced. I liked the story on a number of different levels.

– -- Russ Bertetta, teacher/Director of Alumni & Development

The book is a wonderful look at some of the actual highlights of Willie Mays’s life in and around baseball brought out through enjoyable fictional characters as they tell the life story of the greatest baseball player of all time.

– -- Marty Lurie, Radio host/Baseball historian

I loved it! It's a delightful and clever premise, beautifully executed. Wonderful job of setting the scene in terms of time and place. Great depth of characters. I definitely felt like I knew James by the end of the book.

– -- Tom Thress, president of Retrosheet.org, Author of Baseball Player Won-Loss Records

A delightful coming-of-age story in 1950s New York with baseball at its core. Readers will be intrigued by the personal portrait of a young Willie Mays coming to the Giants.

– -- Prof. Robert Garratt, Author of Home Team: The Turbulent History of the San Francisco Giants

Great story! It was easy reading, held my attention and the flow smoothly wove in so many meticulously researched historical events.

– -- Joan Chin, Senior Tour Guide, Pacific Bell/SBC/AT&T/Oracle Park

As I read this excellent tale, I was transported back in history to see this unusual relationship unfold before me. Mr. Hayes’ passion for sharing it could be felt from its opening lines.

– -- Chris Bonham

Mr. Hayes weaves a tremendous story about the time the greatest there ever was, Willie Mays, spent in New York City and later in San Francisco. Using an unusual narrator, we are brought back into the franchise’s lore of the 1950s where it all started on the streets of Harlem for “Mr. Willie” on and off the playing field. A great read that often had me wondering what was fiction and what was non-fiction in this historical fiction narrative. KUDOS for such an inventive story that reads true to life.

– -- Gary Mintz, Author and Founder of New York Giants Preservation Society

This heartwarming story of Willie Mays and the young teenager that he befriended in the 1950s shares many touching moments while showcasing the kindness, generosity and love Mays gave to all of the youth he encountered throughout his life.

– -- Luis Sanchez, Security Professional