Mankind invented baseball in the 18th century, and the two major baseball leagues created Major League Baseball in 1903. It wasn’t until 1931 that God made the perfect baseball player, Willie Howard Mays.

A few weeks past his 20th birthday, Mays made his major league debut for the New York Giants in Philadelphia’s Shibe Park. When Mays sprinted out to the field in the bottom of the first inning that day, he not only became a fixture in the Giants’ outfield, he came to define centerfield — the grandest position in sports.