Willie Mays, sitting in the Candlestick clubhouse this week - as always, the center of attention - spoke fondly of the New York years of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry.

"We were friends, just not on the field," Mays said. "My best friend was Jim Gilliam. Don Newcombe knocked me down in the day, and we'd go out at night."

Of course, the biggest moment in the rivalry came with Mays on deck and Bobby Thomson at the plate on Oct. 3, 1951, when Thomson's home run off Ralph Branca won the Giants a pennant.

"I thought they'd walk Bobby and let me hit," Mays, who was a rookie at the time, said. "I think I was happy it wasn't me. Bobby hit the home run, and I was the last guy to get to home plate. I was on deck, but everyone else beat me to the plate. I guess I was so damn nervous, I didn't know what to do. In the films, you don't see No. 24 coming out until later."