One of the most flamboyant cars ever ordered by Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays is back in the spotlight, this time on a digital auction block. His turquoise 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI, a low‑mileage monument to 1970s excess and celebrity taste, is now being offered through Bring a Trailer, giving collectors a rare chance to chase a machine long associated with “The Say Hey Kid.” The listing folds a piece of baseball history into the fast‑moving world of online bidding, where provenance can matter as much as horsepower.
The car arrives at auction after a wave of renewed attention on Mays’s personal effects, which have drawn intense interest from both sports fans and high‑end collectors. As bidders size up this Stutz, they are not only evaluating chrome and leather, but also the enduring pull of a player whose memorabilia has already commanded millions of dollars under the hammer.
The Bring a Trailer moment for a Hall of Famer’s coupe
The current Bring a Trailer listing presents the car as an “Ex–Willie Mays, 17k‑Mile 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI,” underscoring that it was purchased new by Willie Mays and retains unusually low mileage for a nearly half‑century‑old luxury coupe. The auction page notes that the odometer shows roughly 17,000 miles and that the car is finished in a vivid turquoise over a plush interior, a specification that makes it stand out even among other surviving examples of the model. The listing invites enthusiasts to “Bid for the chance to own a Ex–Willie Mays, 17k‑Mile 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI at auction with Bring a Trailer,” positioning the car squarely at the intersection of classic‑car culture and baseball lore.
Within the auction interface, the Stutz appears under Stutz Live Auctions as a single, headline offering, reinforcing its status as a centerpiece among the marque’s current online sales. The bidding table highlights a “Current Bid” in “USD $35,250” with a user identified as KingT at the top of the stack, and a “Time Left” counter that reminds onlookers that the window to secure this piece of Mays history is finite. Bring a Trailer’s own editorial feature on “This Week’s Weird and Wonderful” singles out the “Ex‑Willie Mays, 17k‑Mile 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI,” noting that the platform has hosted cars from several Hall of Famers but that this particular luxo‑liner more than holds its own in that company.
A rolling expression of 1970s American excess
Beyond the celebrity connection, the Stutz Blackhawk VI itself is a study in period‑correct extravagance. The car traces its modern incarnation to Donnell O’Donnell, who revived the Stutz name and hired retired Chrysler stylist Virgil Exner to design a neo‑classic personal luxury coupe that would appeal to entertainers, athletes, and other high‑profile buyers. According to detailed model histories, the Blackhawk was based on the Pontiac Grand Prix and combined American mechanicals with Italian‑built coachwork, creating a long‑hood, short‑deck silhouette that looked more like a custom show car than a regular production vehicle.
The 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI ordered by Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays followed that template, pairing the Pontiac Grand Prix and chassis and drivetrain with hand‑finished bodywork and a cabin loaded with bespoke touches. Period specifications for the Blackhawk line describe a large displacement V8, often cited as a 7‑liter unit, feeding power through an automatic transmission, with the emphasis placed squarely on effortless cruising rather than outright performance. The combination of Detroit hardware and Italian craftsmanship, along with the car’s towering price when new, made it a natural fit for celebrities who wanted something more dramatic than a standard Cadillac or Lincoln.
Inside Willie Mays’s ultra‑personalized Blackhawk
The Bring a Trailer listing for the ex‑Mays car reveals just how thoroughly the Stutz formula was tailored to its original owner. The turquoise exterior is paired with a richly appointed interior that features thick carpeting, extensive wood trim, and deeply cushioned seating, all in keeping with the Blackhawk’s reputation as a rolling lounge. The auction description notes that the car has a power‑adjustable driver’s seat and other comfort‑oriented amenities that were cutting‑edge for the period, reinforcing its status as a top‑tier luxury product rather than a mere styling exercise.
More telling are the period gadgets that remain in place. A car phone and CB radio are mounted atop the center console, signaling how the car functioned as both transportation and mobile office for a star who spent much of his life on the road. Additional amenities include an AM/FM cassette stereo and other convenience features that would have been aspirational in the late 1970s, all of which help explain why a player of Mays’s stature gravitated toward the Stutz Blackhawk VI in the first place. The fact that these elements survive in the car today, as documented in the auction photography and description, strengthens its appeal to collectors who value originality as much as they do celebrity provenance.
From personal treasure to high‑stakes collectible
The Stutz’s appearance on Bring a Trailer comes in the wake of a broader dispersal of items from Mays’s personal collection, a process that has underscored the financial and emotional weight attached to his legacy. According to Hunt Auctions, a major sale of Mays memorabilia featured 944 lots and realized a total of $6,569,958 including buyer’s premium, a figure that reflects the intense demand for artifacts tied to one of baseball’s most revered figures. That auction included championship rings, Gold Gloves, and other career‑defining pieces, each of which drew spirited bidding from fans and investors alike.
Within that context, Mays’s 1977 custom Stutz Blackhawk was identified as part of the same constellation of prized possessions, further elevating the car’s profile among collectors. Separate reporting described how a 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI, finished in turquoise with a tan interior, was parked and roped off in Willie Mays Plaza as a visual centerpiece during the memorabilia festivities, underscoring its symbolic role in celebrating his life and career. While the precise transactional path that brought the car from Mays’s ownership to its current Bring a Trailer listing is not fully detailed in the available sources and therefore remains “Unverified based on available sources,” the consistent association between this model and Mays’s personal collection helps explain why the online auction has attracted such close attention.
Why this Blackhawk matters to both car and baseball worlds
The convergence of a rare Stutz Blackhawk VI and the name Willie Mays has created a moment that resonates beyond the usual circles of classic‑car enthusiasts. For automotive historians, the car represents a late‑twentieth‑century experiment in reviving a storied marque through limited‑production, ultra‑luxury coupes that blended American powertrains with European craftsmanship. For baseball fans, it is a tangible link to a Hall of Famer whose influence extended far beyond the diamond, reflecting the lifestyle and status he achieved after a career that reshaped the sport.
Online, the Bring a Trailer listing has been amplified through social channels, including a Threads post from the platform’s official account that highlights the “Ex‑Willie Mays, 17k‑Mile 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI” and directs followers to the auction. That cross‑pollination between enthusiast communities has helped push the car into broader public view, where the “Current Bid” of “USD $35,250” serves as a real‑time barometer of how much value bidders place on the combination of rarity, condition, and Mays provenance. Whether the final hammer price ultimately lands closer to traditional Stutz valuations or is driven higher by the power of Mays’s name, the auction underscores how a single turquoise coupe can carry the weight of both automotive ambition and sporting history.
More from Fast Lane Only
