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WILLIE MAYS, BILLIE JEAN KING AND HARRY BELAFONTE TO BE HONORED WITH
MLB BEACON AWARDS DURING GILLETTE CIVIL RIGHTS GAME WEEKEND
Former Congressman and U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young to Deliver Keynote Speech at
Luncheon; Recording Artists Roberta Flack and Jeffrey Osborne to Perform
Gillette Civil Rights Game between St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds
to be Held on May 15 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati
Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays, women’s sports pioneer Billie Jean King and award-winning
entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte will receive MLB Beacon Awards during the 2010 Gillette Civil
Rights Game Weekend, a series of events developed to pay tribute to all of those who fought on and
off the field for equal rights for all Americans. The Gillette Civil Rights Game will be played between the
St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, May 15 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati
and will be telecast live on MLB Network.
Mays, King and Belafonte will be honored with the MLB Beacon of Life, Beacon of Change and
Beacon of Hope, respectively, at the MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon, which will
be held at the Duke Energy Convention Center. The Luncheon will precede the
game and highlights will be available on MLB.com, the official web site of Major
League Baseball. Former Congressman and U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young will
deliver the keynote speech and ESPN’s SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele will
serve as mistress of ceremonies. Proceeds from the Luncheon will benefit the MLB Urban Youth
Foundation, the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund and the National Underground Railroad Freedom
Center. The MLB Beacon Awards recognize individuals whose lives are emblematic of the spirit of the
civil rights movement. *Bios for MLB Beacon Award honorees and Luncheon participants can
be found in separate attachment.
“The MLB Beacon Awards give us the opportunity to honor individuals who have made an indelible
impact on our society,” said Jimmie Lee Solomon, Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations, Major
League Baseball. “Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome all of our special honorees and guests
to the Gillette Civil Rights Game, one of our jewel events that pays homage to a very significant era in
our country’s history.”
Hall of Famer Ernie Banks will throw out the first pitch to culminate a series of on-field ceremonies
prior to the Gillette Civil Rights Game. Multiple Grammy winner Roberta Flack and Grammy nominee
and platinum recording artist Jeffrey Osborne will perform at both the MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon
and the Gillette Civil Rights Game. In addition to the MLB Beacon Award recipients, renowned
recording artist and actress Lena Horne and Rachel Robinson, widow of Jackie and founder of the
Jackie Robinson Foundation, will be honored at the Luncheon. There will also be a special tribute to the
surviving members of the sit-in at the Greensboro, NC Woolworth lunch counter, a pivotal moment in
the civil rights movement in which four African-American college students protested the establishment’s
racial policy of serving “Whites-Only.”
Prior to Saturday’s festivities, the Baseball and the Civil Rights Movement roundtable discussion will
take place at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, on Friday, May 14, from
4:00-5:30pm (ET). MLB Hall of Famer and Reds legend Joe Morgan, MLB Network analyst and Reds
legend Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, actor and comedian Mark Curry and
tennis legend Zina Garrison will serve as this year’s panelists. Harvard Law School professor and
renowned expert on race and justice Charles Ogletree will once again moderate a discussion of the
pivotal role Baseball played in the civil rights movement and its continued presence as a social
institution in American society. The roundtable discussion is an event open to the public and will stream
live on MLB.com.
During a Youth Summit and MLB “Wanna Play?” program interactive area at Cincinnati’s Fountain
Square on Saturday, there will be an open-forum, Q&A session beginning at 3:00pm (ET) with MLB
Network analyst and former All-Star Harold Reynolds serving as host to Barry Larkin, actor Josh
Hutcherson (“Journey to the Center of the Earth”), teen sax sensation BK Jackson and current
members of the Reds and Cardinals.
For more information or to purchase tickets to the MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon and the Gillette
Civil Rights Game, please visit www.MLB.com/civilrightsgame.

MLB Beacon Award Honorees and Luncheon Participant Bios
Willie Mays – MLB Beacon of Life
Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays is regarded by many as the greatest all-around player of all time,
compiling more than 3,000 hits, hitting 660 home runs and being one of only three players in history to
play in 24 MLB All-Star Games. Mays started his playing career in the Negro Leagues before emerging
as a superstar with the New York Giants. Throughout his storied career, he collected nearly every
accolade a Major League player could desire: National League Rookie of the Year (1951), National
League Most Valuable Player (1954, 1965), MLB All-Star Game MVP (1963, 1968), Roberto Clemente
Award (1971) and World Series Champion (1954). Perhaps most significantly, Mays was part of the first
all African-American outfield in MLB history during his rookie year in 1951, along with fellow Hall of
Famer Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson, and in 1964 was named the first African-American team
captain in baseball history by the San Francisco Giants. For these reasons and for the joy, confidence
and humility he displayed throughout his career, Major League Baseball is honoring him with the MLB
Beacon of Life, an award recognizing an individual who embodies the soul of the civil rights
movement through his life’s pursuits.
Billie Jean King – MLB Beacon of Change
Billie Jean King has proven to be one of the greatest champions in tennis history and a trailblazer for
gender equality in sports. In 1971, King became the first female athlete in any sport to earn $100,000,
and two years later, she lobbied for, and obtained, equal prize money for men and women at the U.S.
Open. King had a defining moment on her pursuit of equality, when in 1973, 50 million people around
the world watched as she defeated former men’s tennis champion Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match
at the Houston Astrodome in three straight sets. Later in life, she became the first woman
commissioner in professional sports history, holding the position for WorldTeam Tennis. In 2006, she
was honored with being the first woman to have a major sports venue named in her honor (USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center) and in 2009 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
the highest civilian honor available in the United States. To honor her incredible life and for her
relentless pursuit of equality in sports and society, Major League Baseball is presenting King with the
MLB Beacon of Change, given to an individual who impacts society through words and actions.
Harry Belafonte – MLB Beacon of Hope
Harry Belafonte is as well-known for his social activism and pursuit of social justice as he is for his
acting and musical talent. His album “Calypso” made him the first artist in history to sell more than 1-
million LPs. He won a Tony award for his Broadway debut in “John Murray Anderson Almanac” and an
Emmy for “An Evening with Belafonte,” in which he was also the first black producer in television. He
has been equally recognized in the social justice arena, with honors such as The Albert Einstein Award
from Yeshiva University, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize, and the Nelson Mandela Courage
Award. Over the decades, Belafonte has worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President John F.
Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and was a driving force behind the 1985 “We Are the World” project to help
people affected by war, drought, and famine in Africa. He has served as a UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador and is a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for excellence in the
performing arts. All this has led him to receive the MLB Beacon of Hope, given to an individual who
influences our future through his support of children.
Andrew Young – Keynote Speaker
Andrew Young is a noted civil rights activist, former mayor of Atlanta, GA and a recipient of the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. During the civil rights movement, Young befriended Martin Luther King
Jr. and was instrumental in encouraging African-Americans to register to vote in Alabama and Georgia.
He became one of Dr. King's principal lieutenants, organizing many peaceful protests, and was with
him in 1968 in Memphis, TN when King was assassinated. In 1972, Young became Georgia’s first
African-American congressman since the Reconstruction Era and was elected to three congressional
terms. He was later appointed as United States Ambassador to the United Nations and to this day, he
continues his activism in favor of human rights as co-founder & chairman of GoodWorks International.
Sage Steel – Mistress of Ceremonies
Sage Steele joined ESPN in February 2007, and is currently an anchor for ESPN’s flagship program,
SportsCenter. She has covered numerous sporting events including MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA Men’s
Final Four, NASCAR, the Indy Racing League and other major sporting events. Steele, who volunteers
her time at church and with the Alzheimer’s Association, resides in Connecticut with her husband and
their three children.