32 Facts About Dick Williams

Richard Hirschfeld Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball.

Dick Williams is one of nine managers to win pennants in both major leagues, and joined Bill McKechnie in becoming only the second manager to lead three franchises to the Series.

Dick Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 following his election by the Veterans Committee.

Dick Williams was born on May 7,1929, in St Louis, Missouri, and lived there until age 13, when his family moved to Pasadena, California.

Dick Williams attended Pasadena High School, and then enrolled in Pasadena City College.

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Dick Williams signed his first professional contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, and played his first major league game with Brooklyn in 1951.

Dick Williams appeared in 1,023 games over 13 seasons with the Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics and Boston Red Sox.

Dick Williams was a favorite of Paul Richards, who acquired Williams four different times between 1956 and 1962 when Richards was a manager or general manager with Baltimore and the Houston Colt.

Dick Williams never played for Houston; he was acquired in an off-season "paper transaction" on October 12,1962, then traded to the Red Sox for another outfielder, Carroll Hardy, on December 10.

Dick Williams's two-year playing career in Boston was uneventful, except for one occasion.

Dick Williams's long drive to the opposite field was snagged by Cleveland right fielder Al Luplow, who made a leaping catch at the wall and tumbled into the bullpen with the ball in his grasp.

Dick Williams then signed a one-year contract to manage the 1967 Red Sox.

Dick Williams decided to risk everything and impose discipline on his players.

Dick Williams vowed that "we will win more ballgames than we lose" — a bold statement for a club that had finished only a half-game from last place in 1966.

Dick Williams issued fines for curfew violations, and insisted his players put the success of the team before their own.

Dick Williams benched players for lack of effort and poor performance, and battled tooth and nail with umpires.

Dick Williams began to clash with Yastrzemski, and with owner Yawkey.

Dick Williams was the first manager in A's franchise history to leave the team with a winning record after running it for two full seasons.

Dick Williams did not have nearly as much talent as he'd had to work with in Boston and Oakland, and the Angels did not respond to Williams' somewhat authoritarian managing style.

Dick Williams responded by having his team actually do so before the game with the Red Sox until hotel security put a stop to it.

Dick Williams was never afraid to give young players a chance to play, and his Expos teams were flush with young talent, including All-Stars such as outfielder Andre Dawson and catcher Gary Carter.

Dick Williams labeled pitcher Steve Rogers a fraud with "king of the mountain syndrome" – meaning that Rogers had been a good pitcher on a bad team for so long that he was unable to "step up" when the team became good.

Dick Williams lost confidence in closer Jeff Reardon, whom the Montreal front office had acquired in a much publicized trade with the Mets for Ellis Valentine.

Dick Williams was a hire of team owner Ray Kroc, whose health was failing.

Dick Williams tried to play injury-plagued Gorman Thomas in the outfield, but was rebuked by the Mariners' front office because of Thomas' medical history, namely his rotator cuff.

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Dick Williams remained in the game as a special consultant to George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees.

Dick Williams was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in December 2007, and was inducted on July 27,2008.

Dick Williams was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 2009.

Dick Williams was an extra in the 1950 movie The Jackie Robinson Story.

Dick Williams died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm at a hospital near his home in Henderson, Nevada, on July 7,2011.

Dick Williams subsequently stated that he was not aware of the details of the complaint when he pleaded no contest, and that although he was standing naked at the balcony door, he was not on the balcony and was not masturbating.

Dick Williams' arrest appeared to impact consideration by the committee, and he would not be inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame until 2008.