My moment with baseball's 'Say Hey Kid'

My moment with baseball's 'Say Hey Kid'

I was in the service from 1952-1954 at Fort Belvoir, Va., and I was lucky to play some baseball during my two years serving my country. I wanted to play shortstop but the coach said that position was already taken. So, I took the only position open, catcher. In 1953, we were going to play Fort Eustis baseball team. During warming up, one guy said, “Isn’t that Willie Mays over there?” As Mays was looking around, he said, “I left my glove on the bus." I didn’t need my glove because I was catching, so I told him, “Take my glove." He did and said “Thanks." To this day I don’t know who won that game. All I remember is that Willie Mays used my baseball glove. I still have it.

Robert H. Monz, West Palm Beach

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: My encounter with Willie Mays -- cherished and unforgettable