Quote:
Originally Posted by packs
Racism aside (if it can be put aside) I always hear that Mays had a serious beef with money. But if you look at his earnings it doesn't seem to match up with his perception that he was short changed in some way.
The most amount of money made per year according to Baseball Reference was $165,000 in 1973. The median household income in 1973 is listed as $12,157. In essence, Mays made more than 10 times the average family at a time when purchasing power was overwhelmingly in his favor. I'm not sure he has room to complain.
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On top of being very well compensated during his career, Mays could have easily made six figures with each appearance at an autograph signing. His last show (that I'm aware of) was in 2010/2011, where cards were $300 apiece. Then figure higher prices for rookie cards, balls, flats up to 8"x10", flats over 8"x10", premium items, plus fees for inscriptions and personalizations, and he would've done very well spending an afternoon writing his name. If he'd done that two or three times a year, well, that's about as close as someone in the private sector will ever come to printing money.