On October 26, 1979 — Commissioner Bowie Kuhn notifies Hall of Famer Willie Mays that if he accepts a position with the Bally Manufacturing Corporation, owner of several gambling casinos, he must disassociate himself from major league baseball. Mays, a part-time coach and goodwill ambassador for the Mets, will relinquish his duties upon accepting Bally’s job offer.
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Hall of Fame baseball great Willie Mays may be forced to choose between continuing his 29- year association with the sport or becoming a goodwill ambassador for a casino hotel here. The 48-year-old Mays, who slugged 660 home runs in a career that lasted from 1951 to 1973, has two years remaining on his contract as a part-time coach and public relations representative with the New York Mets. He has agreed to a long-term contract to promote the $200-million Park Place resort, which is owned by the Bally Corporation.
But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ‘Friday expressed “hope that he will elect to continue with the New York Mets in preference to Bally. Until there is confirmation of an agreement between Willie Mays and Bally, there is no comment I can make.”
Bob Win, a spokesman for Kuhn, refused to confirm the commissioner had ordered Mays to disassociate himself from baseball and the Mets because of the agreement with Bally.
Kuhn, however, has long held that association by baseball personnel with gamblers and gambling is ‘not in baseball’s best interests. Al Rosen, former president of the New York Yankees who became a Park Place Vice president on June 24, said he has long been aware of Kuhn’s disapproval of the deal between Mays and Bally.
“I went to the commissioner knowing the commissioner had some reservations about this,” said Rosen. “This happened about six weeks ago. I explained Willie’s duties here and specifically stated some things he couldn’t do, including gambling in the casino. We wanted him to continue his association with baseball to play in Old Timer’s games and attend functions — in essence, to be a PR person,” Rosen continued ‘ “Willie Mays has an attorney. We were under the impression that Willie Mays and his attorney would handle this whole thing.”
