Willie Lee McCovey, a.k.a Willie McCovey, was an American retired Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, making his professional debut and retiring through San Francisco Giants. He also played for San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics throughout his playing career.
Willie McCovey was married to his wife, Estela Mourns, recently. He previously married Karen McCovey, but the couple divorced only after two years.
Willie McCovey was born on the 10th of January 1938 in Mobile, Alabama. His star sign was Capricorn. Talking about his nationality, McCovey was an American and of Afro-American ethnicity.
McCovey was raised alongside his seven brothers: Clauzell, Arthur, Wad, Walter, Cleon, Frank, and Richmond and two sisters: Ethel and Francis, by his father, Frank, and mother, Esther.
He played sports in the empty fields or streets at his tender age. He played softball in a large local playground and was a better pitcher than a first baseman.
Due to poor financial status, McCovey drooped out of high school to support his family in his junior year. He served as a busboy in a whites-only restaurant.
As of 2018, Willie McCovey had an estimated net worth of around $3 million. He owned a lavish mansion in Woodside, California. His annual salary in 1972 was reported to be $125,000.
On the 12th of March, 1955, McCovey signed with the New York Giants as an amateur free agent. On 30th July 1959, McCovey went four-for-four against Hall of Famer Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies, hitting two triples and two singles, en route to a .354 batting average. In August, he earned his first award, the “NL Player of the Month award,”
Subsequently, he took home the “National League Rookie of the Year” honor while playing fifty-two games.
In 1962, he led the Giants to the World Series against the New York Yankees. He spent many years at the heart of the Giant’s batting order with his mate Hall of Famer Willie Mays. Statistically, his best year was 1969, when McCovey hit 45 home runs with 126 RBI and batted.320, becoming the National League MVP.
On 25th October 1973, McCovey was traded to the San Diego Padres with Bernie Williams for Mike Caldwell. He played two seasons for the Padres and then was purchased by Oakland Athletics. He represented Oakland Athletics in eleven games.
In 1977, McCovey returned to his former club, San Francisco. He began the season as the active home run leader with 465 following the retirement of Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson.
In 1980, McCovey retired as a baseball player. In his twenty-two-year playing career, he batted .270, with 521 home runs and 1,229 runs, 46 triples, 2,211 hits, 1,555 RBI, a .374 on-base % as well as a .515 slugging %.
In 1986, Willie McCovey was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Then in 1999, he was named 56th on “the Sporting News” list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and nominated for the MLB All-Century Team as a finalist.
On 7th February 2009, McCovey was inducted into the Afro Sports Hall of Fame in Oakland, California.
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Moving into his personal life, Willie McCovey is survived by his wife, Estela Mourns, whom he recently married on August 2, 2018. Willie met Estela in 2010 – she was his nurse while he was recovering from his fourth back surgery.
He has revealed limited information about his private life. In 1964, McCovey tied the knot with Karen McCovey. The pair shares one child. However, the couple split just after two years of their marriage.
Willie McCovey died at the 80 on October 31, 2018. The specific reason for his death was not revealed but was instead cited as "on-going health issues."
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