I was privileged to see Willie Mays in 1969 in the Astrodome.

Combined salary, approximately $210,000.

Cost of new Chevrolet Impala in 1965, $19,000.

Yes No

I thought $19,000 was way too high, this was my reference:

Cost of cars

So what I didn't notice is that it adjusts the costs to current dollars. So this is still interesting.

A car costs about six times more now than it did then. A baseball superstar costs about 350 times as much.

I'm only old enough to have seen Willie Mays in an Old Timers' game in 1987, re-enacting game 7 of the 1962 World Series.

Somebody actually brought out a bucket of water when Gaylord Perry took the mound.

In the re-enactment of the final out of the 9th inning, Willie McCovey at the plate, second and third, two outs, Giants down by one, Willie Mac launched one into the upper deck in right field - sadly, about 5 feet foul and about 15 feet from where my dad and I were sitting.

My dad, who grew up in Redwood City, saw Willie Mays play lots of games, starting at Seals Stadium in 1958.

When my wife was five her grandfather took her to the dome to see Mayes play. He told her never forget you saw Willie Mayes play baseball. She didnt know anything about baseball but she remembers that.