New technology has given us NFTs, and NFTs are going old school to showcase some of our favorite athletes, the latest being baseball legend, Willie Mays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, October 24th (an ode to his legendary jersey number), Mays gets his own NFT drop and he’s donating all of the proceeds to his Say Hey<\/em> Foundation<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is Mays’ way of honoring the people who gave him a start in life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His foundation will establish a baseball academy for underprivileged youth back in Alabama where Mays grew up. They will also help restore the historic baseball facilities at Rickwood Field where Mays began his storied baseball career with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’ve never forgotten the people who supported me, taught me, and helped me find my way,” said Mays. “I want every child to have the same chances that I had, and this gives me a way to do that starting in my original hometown.\u00a0 Rickwood was the first place I ever got to see professional ballplayers, and I want these kids to learn the game and be inspired the way I was.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rickwood Field itself is a central theme of the drop\u2019s art.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Per the release:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first drop tells the story of Willie\u2019s path to the majors, from Fairfield Industrial High in Birmingham, to the Negro American League, culminating with his move to the New York Giants with whom he would win the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951. The various edition pieces capture the key themes and statistics of those periods, and the 1\/1 hero piece adds to the story with a number of never-before-seen personal documents and images from Willie\u2019s journey – most notably, a copy of Willie\u2019s high school diploma, in which he was assigned a career in \u201ccleaning, dyeing, and pressing.\u201d <\/em><\/p>