Obama wishes former MBL player Willie Mays happy birthday
Former President Barack Obama tweeted praising American former professional baseball player Willie Mays on his 90th birthday, so much as giving him credit for him and Jackie Robinson also a former major baseball league player paving the way for his presidency.
Happy 90th birthday to Willie Mays! If it wasn't for folks like Willie and Jackie Robinson, I might never have made it to the White House. The spirit he played with and the way he carried himself changed the game and people’s attitudes. I’m glad he’s still going strong. pic.twitter.com/DTlRlart5U
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 6, 2021
A two-time MVP Mays is one of the greatest athletes of all time with a career spanning over 25 years marked with him becoming a seminal figure in the sport’s history by making 24 All-Star teams.
It is difficult to not be swayed by his gifts and charismatic persona as described by the former President himself describing the time the two met first time on Air Force 1 in 2009 saying jokingly, “Very rarely when I’m on Air Force 1 am the second-most important guy on there. Everybody was just passing me by, ‘Can I get you something, Mr. Mays?”
The two famously rode together to visit the MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis.
In 2015, Barack himself awarded the 12-time Gold Glove winner with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
