Willie Mays' No. 24 Jersey Retired by Mets; Played 2 Seasons with NY

The New York Mets retired their jerseys during a ceremony before their game against the Colorado Rockies.

Willie Mays had his No. 24 jersey retired by the Mets.

New York Mets @Mets

As part of today's Old Timers’ Day ceremonies, we have retired Willie Mays' No. 24. 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/aJYhZFk1LL

The owner of the baseball team wanted Mays' number to be retired, according to Anthony DiComo.

Mays is the 13th player in baseball history to have his number retired. His number 24 was retired by the Giants.

He's joining a group that includes Frank Robinson, Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson, Carlton Fisk, Rollie Fingers, Gil Hodges, Greg Maddux, Roy Halladay, Wade Boggs.

Mays was acquired by the Mets in a trade with the San Francisco Giants in 1972 and there have been rumors for a long time that he was promised a seat on the board.

According to the New York Post's Mike Vaccaro, Payson was a minority shareholder in the New York Giants and voted against moving the team to San Francisco.

When the Giants made Mays available in a trade early in 1972, Payson quickly moved to acquire her favorite player and made him a promise to ease his concerns about returning to the East Coast.

According to Vaccaro, Payson told Willie that he would be the last Met to wear the number.

In October 1975, Payson passed away.

When he first joined the Mets, he wore No. 24 but switched to No. 39 after some backlash. There are only two other players who have worn Mays' number for the Mets.

Mays stopped working after the 1973. He played for the Giants from 1951 to 1957 and only appeared in 135 games for the Mets.

In his six seasons with the New York Giants, Mays was an All-Star four times, won NL Freshman of the Year in 1951, and finished in the top 10 in NLMVP voting three times.

The Giants defeated the Indians in the World Series. The Say Hey Kid made his famous over-the-shoulder play in center field, known as "The catch," to keep the game tied in the first game of the series. The Yankees went on to win the game and the series.