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SharePrint Archives and History Block Speaker Series: Gary Mays

July 28, 2016

Charleston, Kanawha


On Thursday, July 28, 2016, Garrett “Gary” Mays will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the third of the 2016 Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Gary Mays, “The One Arm Bandit,” was born in Burnwell, a coal mining town in Kanawha County, on March 26, 1935. At the age of five, he lost his left arm in a shotgun accident. When he was 12, he moved to the northeast section of Washington, DC, where he started playing baseball at Logan Community Center.

Mays attended Armstrong Technical High School where he displayed his athletic skills playing baseball and basketball. It was Mays’ basketball coach Charlie Baltimore who gave him the nickname “The One Arm Bandit” because of his ability to steal the ball.

In 1954, Armstrong and Spingarn high schools played each other for the Inter-High Division II Basketball Tournament title. Spingarn was undefeated, and its star player, Elgin Baylor, had averaged more than 40 points in the school’s two victories over Armstrong during the regular season. Armstrong’s coach instructed his players to use a zone defense with the exception of Gary Mays, who was told to play “man-to-man” defense against Baylor. Armstrong managed to beat Spingarn 50 to 47, with Baylor only scoring 18 points.

The following year, Gary Mays attended the Washington Senators annual tryout camp at Griffith Stadium. Although he was not signed by the Senators, Mays, who threw out a base runner and hit the only home run in a camp-closing scrimmage, was unanimously voted camp MVP.

Mays attended The College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho, and went on to become a liquor store owner and cab, bus, and limousine driver. He was building chairman for the DC Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the owner of his own construction company. Mays currently is vice president of the Armstrong Alumni Association.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on July 28 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.



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