It was on this date, February 20, 1963, that the San Francisco Giants paid $100,000, baseball's highest salary, to sign which player?

Coming off a spectacular 1962 season where he hit 49 home runs and led his team to the World Series, the San Francisco Giants knew they had to reward their superstar center fielder. On February 20, 1963, they did just that, signing the legendary Willie Mays to a one-year contract worth $100,000. This deal made the "Say Hey Kid" the highest-paid player in baseball, a testament to his incredible five-tool talent and immense value to the franchise.

The $100,000 salary was a significant milestone in sports economics. While a couple of players like Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial had reached that figure before, Mays's contract re-established that benchmark for a new era's top superstar. For the Giants, who had relocated from New York just five years earlier, the deal was a crucial investment. It cemented Mays, already a beloved figure from the team's days at the Polo Grounds, as the undisputed face of