Chants of "Willie, Willie, Willie" played around Rickwood Field on Thursday after Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds and Michael Mays introduced a tribute to former MLB great Willie "Say Hey" Mays.

Michael Mays, the son of the former MLB and Negro League superstar, reminded the Birmingham, Alabama crowd that while the "Say Hey" kid died on June 18, he was still with them at the game between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama, in the MLB's first commemorative "MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues game."

REQUIRED READING: Where was Willie Mays from? Late MLB legend was Alabama native who began career in Birmingham

"Birmingham, I have been telling you that if there was any way on Earth, my father could come down here, he would. Well, he's found another way," Michael Mays said to the crowd. "Ya'll are already standing on your feet, so let him hear you; he's listening."

x.com

Michael Mays' speech received immense applause, and chants for Willie then broke out ahead of a musical performance. The speech was preceded by a video tribute presented by Jon Miller, the longtime voice of the San Francisco Giants. Mays played for 21 seasons for the San Francisco Giants and 22 years in the MLB, amassing 660 home runs.

Mays, who died at 93 on Tuesday, won two National League MVPs, was a 12-time Gold Glove recipient, a four-time National League home run leader, a World Series champion, and made the All-Star game 24 times during his illustrious career. He was considered the greatest living MLB legend before his death. Mays was born in Westfield, Alabama, about nine miles west of downtown Birmingham on May 6, 1931, and played for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948 at 17 years old, just a year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Dodgers in 1947.

Barry Bonds on Willie Mays

Mays served as Bonds' godfather. Bonds sent a heartfelt tribute to Mays on Tuesday. Before Thursday's game, Bonds talked with Fox Sports about his connection with Mays.

"It goes back... 54 years," Bonds said of his relationship with Mays. "My father (Bobby Bonds) asked Willie to be my godfather, and that's how the story started. I started following him around when I was a little boy. Every kid that I've ever known, every one of us who came to the ballpark, wanted to be Willie Mays. I used to climb on top of the locker and hide above his locker and just watch him chew bubble gum.

"I used to put his glove on. I was left-handed, but I'd always put his glove on backward. He took a liking to me when I was a little kid. That's how our relationship started. Willie was just my idol. Willie was just everything to me. He did a lot for the city, he did a lot in the community, he did a lot for the organization. He was a big inspiration to the city."

Bonds tied Mays' career home run number on April 12, 2004, and then passed Mays the next day. Bonds said he hesitated to pass his godfather's home run mark, but Mays was always supportive.

"I didn't want to pass my godfather," Bonds recalled. "He was my idol. So when that stage came, I think I was in a slump a little bit. But he was saying, 'I'm traveling all over the place for you; you better hurry up.' When I did it and Willie came out with the torch, he said 'Keep on going. You go break that record. Don't you stop on my account.'

"There was nothing on the planet that was going to stop me because that's what he wanted."

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Willie Mays honored at Rickwood Field's Negro Leagues tribute