Willie Mays got Cable Car No. 24 for his 85th birthday

Willie Mays, who captured everything else that ever came his way, caught a San Francisco cable car Friday to mark his 85th birthday.

It had not been a regular cable car, due to the fact that absolutely nothing about Mays is normal. It was Cable Car No. 24, that was Say Hey Kid’s consistent number. On Friday, the city chose it was due time to devote it to one of the best baseball player ever.

“This is heartwarming,” Mays said with a smile. “I never ever had an automobile that moved as fast as I did when I played.”

And car No. 24, packed down with Mays and lots of dignitaries, didn’t. It sneaked down Washington Street from the Cable Car Barn for a ritualistic three-block journey around Nob Hill, substantially slower, even on the down slope, than Mays rounding the bases.

Balloons, speeches, plaques, were there, and more speeches as well as a videotaped welcoming from a Mays fan in Washington, D.C., who had some spare time.