"He and Joe DiMaggio are the greatest center fielders I ever saw. But Joe couldn't run the bases as well: he wasn't as daring as Willie. I would pay money just to see him play. He brings back the old days for a fellow like myself."

“You're not from New York, are you? You can't be from New York. Well, when I broke in, I didn't know many people by name so I would just say, "Say, hey," and the writers picked that up. The writers here in New York can make anything happen, so they made that happen.”

“I couldn't believe Mays could throw that far. I figured there had to be a relay. Then I found out there wasn't. He's too good for this world.✱”

“Gee, I've been asked hundreds of questions about that catch in the first game of the World Series. The one that Vic Wertz hit for Cleveland. Was it my best catch? How did I play it? Honestly, I don't rate 'em—I just try to catch 'em. When he hit the ball, I just started toward the place it was heading. And I got there.”

“The American Dream can come in many different ways for many different people. It doesn't have to come in the way they explain it to you. Now, the American Dream can come if a guy hits the lottery. Who in the world thought he would hit a lottery? That's the American Dream for him. But I look at it from day one, moving up the ladder, and moving up the ladder. Now you get to the top of the ladder and you have to look back. How did you get to that ladder? To me, that's the American Dream.”

“An unusual event occurred in the seventh. Greengrass tripled over the head of Willie Mays. To a Giant fan this is like tripling over the Empire State building. Willie galloped after the drive but his horse ran second as the ball descended a few inches beyond his reach, a step or two away from the centerfield fence.”

“Richie Allen was—and still is—a Hall of Famer as far as I'm concerned.”