MLB: Willie Mays Mural
CLIENT
MLB
When we began our mural for Major League Baseball honoring the career of Willie Mays, we wanted to create a masterpiece worthy of this legendary athlete. We ended up making a memorial that we hope lives up to his legacy.
MLB originally commissioned the T-Mobile-dedicated mural as part of a collaborative Juneteenth celebration. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, home to the historic Black Barons where Mays began his professional career in 1948. From there, Mays earned his title as one of the greatest players in MLB history, while leading the way toward a more diverse and equitable league.
Mays approved the artwork and followed the mural project with the intention of attending the reveal celebration following its completion. Fate, sadly, had other plans. As our painters added finishing touches to his portrait, Mays passed away on June 18, 2024, a day before Juneteenth and the scheduled unveiling event. Interest was evident in the turnout onsite and online, but the homage paid to Mays’ legacy would take the mural out of Birmingham and onto the screens of fans and supporters worldwide:
375M+
Press Impressions
13M+
Social Impressions
A crowd congregated that day to pay respects to the athlete and remember a career that was nothing short of extraordinary. We’re honored and humbled to contribute in some small way to the legacy and memory of Willie Mays.
“From our first telephone conversation, I knew we were getting into something very special. From day one to the end was just beautiful. [...] The days leading up to the game were made very special by having Colossal in town. Willie Mays passing made the work almost divine. And then the respect shown by so many at the reveal was something right out of a book.”
