‘Say Hey, Willie Mays!’ Documentary Scores HBO Premiere Date

Greg Evans
·2 min read
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Say Hey, Willie Mays!, the Nelson George documentary that explores the life and career of Major League Baseball icon Willie Mays, will debut Wed., Nov. 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max.

Directed by George, the HBO Sports doc includes exclusive interviews with Mays and his family. The film will have its world premiere at the 2022 UrbanWorld Film Festival on October 27.

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“Over the years,” Mays said in a statement, “the fans have given me so much joy, and I am excited to express my thanks again through this wonderful documentary and its telling of the story of my career and life. I have worked hard and been fortunate to do many amazing things over the course of my life, and I am excited and proud that the people who see this film, including younger fans who never saw me play, will have the chance to relive this great journey with me and have a few laughs along the way. Watching this documentary brought a proud and grateful smile to my face, and I hope everyone else enjoys it too.”

The film charts Mays’ life as a beacon of the American Dream, intersecting with a transformative era of the Black American experience, from his formative years playing Negro League baseball in Birmingham, to landing on the country’s biggest stage in New York at the inception of televised games, and expanding with baseball to the west coast during the peak of the Civil Rights movement.

Say Hey, Willie Mays! follows Mays’ life both on and off the field over five decades as he navigated the American sports landscape and the country’s ever-evolving cultural backdrop, all while helping to define what it means to be one of America’s first Black sports superstars.

Said George, “The film is very much a tale of mentorship. Willie was schooled in life and baseball by his father Cat and Negro League players. Later Willie looked out for scores of young Black players including his godson Barry Bonds. An epic American life.”

Interviewees included in the film include Mays, his godson Barry Bonds, son Michael Mays, Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal, alongside the late baseball legend Vin Scully, broadcasters Jon Miller and Bob Costas, and Mays’ biographer John Shea.

Say Hey, Willie Mays! is a Company Name production in association with Uninterrupted, Zipper Bros Films, and Major League Baseball. The film is directed by Nelson George and produced by Colin Hanks, Sean Stuart and Glen Zipper; executive producers from Uninterrupted are LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, Philip Byron and Major League Baseball’s Nick Trotta. For HBO, executive producers Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Bentley Weiner; coordinating producer, Abtin Motia.

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