Mayor Vincent C. Gray Congratulates DC Native and Major League Baseball Legend Maury Wills on Bobblehead Tribute at Dodgers-Nationals Game

(Washington, D.C.) — Mayor Vincent C. Gray today congratulated D.C. native and Major League Baseball legend Maury Wills, who is scheduled to be honored with a bobblehead tribute at the April 28 Dodgers-Nationals game in Los Angeles.

“Maury Wills is one of the best baseball players that the District of Columbia has ever produced, and it’s therefore fitting that he should be honored by the Dodgers on a night when they face the Nationals,” Mayor Gray said. “As a fellow baseball fan and D.C. native, I congratulate Mr. Wills on this honor and wish him many more years of good health and enjoyment of America’s pastime – even as I wish the Nationals continued success in staying ahead of the Dodgers at first place in the National League.”

Maurice Morning Wills was born in the District in 1932 and graduated from Cardozo Senior High School, where he was a standout in baseball, football and basketball. He played at shortstop and as a switch-hitting batter for the Dodgers from 1959-66 and again 1969-72, with short stints playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967-68) and the team that would later become the Nationals, the Montreal Expos (1969). He was a crucial part of the Dodgers’ World Series championship teams in 1959, 1963 and 1965. In 1962, Wills was the National League’s Most Valuable Player and was also elected the Major League Baseball All-Star Game’s MVP that same year.  He also is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner (in 1961 and 1962) and was famous for his base-stealing skills.

In 2009, the District paid tribute to Wills by renaming Cardozo High School’s baseball diamond – formerly known as the Banneker Recreation Field – as Maury Wills Field. The renaming was accomplished via legislation that the Mayor, who was then Council Chair, co-sponsored.