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Willie Mays made "The Catch."
Not just a catch. Not just any catch. The Catch. There's no other defensive play in the history of baseball with a moniker like that.
Despite its status, it didn't make the top-100 of Sporting News' 140 Greatest Sports Moments list, which was released Tuesday to commemorate a publication that has been around since 1886.
Mays' catch got the No. 105 spot on the list.
It's just behind Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's epic 2025 French Open Final and just ahead of Bill Russell becoming the first Black coach to win a title in U.S. pro sports.
How in the world do you rank all the moments in sports history? It's certainly not easy.
But there will be plenty of Giants fans feeling as if Mays got a little robbed here.
"(Vic) Wertz lifted a high fly ball to the almost comically deep center field at the Polo Grounds, the drive prompting Giants center fielder Willie Mays to turn his back to the plate and sprint toward the wall," writes SN's Marc Lancaster. "As he neared the fence, Mays lifted his left arm and caught the ball over his shoulder, then whirled and fired the ball back to the infield."
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This is one of those plays you can picture in your mind's eye, of course. It preserved a tie game that the Giants would win in extra innings en route to sweeping Cleveland in the World Series.
It's certainly one of the best moments in baseball history.
For those Giants fans wondering -- Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Round the World" is at No. 99.
There are plenty of spots higher on the list that they may have deserved to be, but they'll have to settle for on the list at all.
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