tedstrong.com

Casey Stengel (right) has a few words for his audience as he and Williams pose with their plaques that will hang in Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. They were inducted July 25, 1966. (AP Photo)

Ted Williams, 1918-2002

My favorite baseball player, Ted Williams, has died at age 83. The man who is also my favorite person named Ted was Boston's ever cranky but much beloved 'Splendid Splinter' and baseball's last .400 hitter, died Friday, July 5, 2002.

I first noticed Williams when I happened to watch most of Ken Burns' "Baseball" mini-series in 1994, where our late hero appeared to be very, very cool.

The Boston Red Sox treasure, who made good on his goal to be known as the greatest hitter of all time, was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest at 8:49 a.m. at Citrus Memorial Hospital in Inverness, spokeswoman Rebecca Martin said. He had suffered a series of strokes and congestive heart failure in recent years.

Williams' greatest achievement came in 1941 when he batted .406, getting six hits in a doubleheader on the final day of the season.

"Ted was like John Wayne,'' Hall of Famer Joe Morgan said. "He was a man's man.'' This is really true. He seemed a lot like John Wayne.

On Friday night, San Diego's Tony Gwynn recalled his friend: "There is no doubt in my mind that Ted is the greatest hitter baseball has ever known, especially considering his service to our country. Given back those five seasons in his prime, Ted's number would be untouchable,'' he said.

Going into the final day of the season, Williams was batting .3996. Rounded off, that would be .400, and Red Sox manager Joe Cronin suggested he sit out the day's doubleheader to clinch that golden number.

Williams refused. Instead, he played both games, went 6-for-8 and lifted his season average to .406. No one has approached .400 since.

Married three times, he had three children: Bobbie Jo, Claudia and John Henry Williams. Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced. Although now it seems the family is feuding over the corpse.

Here's some more info, I am adding to this obit, at a later date...

Theodore Samuel Williams was born in San Diego, California, on August 30, 1918. He signed a contract at the age of 18 in 1936 with the Boston Red Sox baseball team. He was assigned to their farm team in San Diego. In 1939 he made his Major League Baseball debut, where he set the record for most runs batted in by a rookie with 145. Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, placing him with baseball's all-time elite. In 1942 Ted won the American League Triple Crown and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he would serve through 1945. In 1946, on his return to baseball, lead the Red Sox to the American League Pennant. The next year he won his 2nd Triple Crown. In 1957 he became the oldest player in history to win a batting crown. Ted retired as a player in 1960, amd hit a homerun in his last at bat. 6 years later he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He became the manager of the Washington Senators in 1969, and resigned three years later in 1972. He is considered by many to be the best hitter in baseball history.

Nicknames: The Splendid Splinter, The Thumper, Teddy Ballgame, The Kid.

Height 6' 4"

Spouses:
Doris Soule (May 1943 - May 1955) (divorced) 1 child
Lee Howard (1961 - 1966) (divorced)
Dolores Wettach (1967 - 1972) (divorced) 2 children

Factoids:

  • Hit a home run in his final Major League at-bat.
  • Elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.
  • Won six American League batting championships, four home run championships, four RBI titles; led in runs six times, and slugging nine times.
  • Appeared as the "Mystery Guest" on "What's My Line?" on May 23, 1954
  • Last Major League baseball player to hit .400 (.406 in 1941).
  • American League Most Valuable Player in 1946 & 1949.
  • Later managed the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers.
  • Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush in 1991.
  • Has a tunnel in Boston named after him.
  • Has a freeway in San Diego named after him.
  • Inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, 1995 (charter member).
  • Inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame, 2001 (charter member).
  • Saw combat as a Marine during the Korean War, flying 39 missions over the Korean mainland, many alongside his operations officer, future astronaut John Glenn. For half of those missions, he was Glenn's wingman.
  • Ex-wife Dolores Wettach was a former Miss Vermont and Vogue model.
  • At the 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, played four days after Williams' death, it was announced that the annual game's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award would be renamed in his honor. Ironically, no MVP trophy was awarded for the 2002 All-Star Game.
  • Because of his hitting prowess, the Williams Shift was created to thwart him. The fielders would shift over to the right (where Williams' hits usually landed).
  • Eighteen-time All-Star.
  • He dubbed the Boston beat writers "The Knights of the Keyboard" sarcastically.
  • He was fined $5,000 during the fifties for spitting at the press box (he never paid the fine).
  • His body is, reportedly, cryogenically preserved, despite attempts by one of Williams' daughters to stop this in court.
  • Inducted into the International Game Fishing Association Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in 1999.
  • Named Player of the Decade (1951-1960).
  • Sporting News Player of the Year five times.

Official site:

Other sites:

Print Biography:

Articles:

  • "The Washington Post" (USA), 13 July 2002, Vol. 125, Iss. 220, pg. A1+A10, by: Mark Leibovich, "The Legacy of Ted Williams, Safe Everywhere but Home"
  • "The Washington Post" (USA), 6 July 2002, Vol. 125, Iss. 213, pg. D1+D8, by: Thomas Boswell, "Softened Splinter, Splendid Goodbye"
  • "The Washington Post" (USA), 6 July 2002, Vol. 125, Iss. 213, pg. D1+D8, by: William Gildea, "The Greatest Hitter Ever"
  • "The Washington Post" (USA), 6 July 2002, Vol. 125, Iss. 213, pg. A1+A8, by: Richard Pearson, "Ted Williams: 1918-2002: Baseball Loses Its Last .400 Hitter"

Magazine cover photos:

  • "Sport" (USA), May 1971
  • "Sport" (USA), June 1969
  • "Sport" (USA), July 1956
  • "Open Road" (USA), May 1950
  • "Look" (USA), 15 October 1946
  • "Life" (USA), 1 September 1941

Ads:

  • Print ad for Lucky Strike cigarettes (1954)
  • Magazine advertisement for Texaco Havoline motor oil (1950)
  • Magazine advertisement for Chesterfield cigarettes (1948)

 

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