| Billy Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams with the Chicago Cubs in 1964 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born: (1938-06-15)June 15, 1938 (age 87) Whistler, Alabama, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 6, 1959, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 2, 1976, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .290 |
| Hits | 2,711 |
| Home runs | 426 |
| Runs batted in | 1,475 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1987 |
| Vote | 85.7% (sixth ballot) |
Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is an American formerleft fielder andcoach inMajor League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for theChicago Cubs. A six-timeAll-Star, Williams was named the 1961National League (NL)Rookie of the Year after hitting 25home runs with 86runs batted in (RBI). A model of consistent production, he went on to provide the Cubs with at least 20 home runs and 80 RBI every year through 1973,batting over .300, hitting 30 home runs and scoring 100runs five times each. Along withErnie Banks andRon Santo, Williams was one of the central figures in improving the Cubs' fortunes in the late 1960s after the club had spent 20 years in the bottom half of the league standings. His 853 RBI and 2,799total bases in the 1960s were the most by any left-handed hitter in the major leagues.
In 1970, Williams was the runner-up in voting for the NLMost Valuable Player Award (MVP) after leading the major leagues with 137 runs, 205hits and 373 total bases, also hitting 42 home runs with 129 RBI, all career highs; excepting his run total, each remains the team record for left-handed hitters. In 1972, he was again the runner-up in MVP voting after winning the NLbatting title with a .333 average, adding 37 home runs and 122 RBI while leading the major leagues in total bases andslugging percentage; in both years, he lost the award toJohnny Bench of theCincinnati Reds. Williams played 1,117consecutive games between September 1963 and September 1970, holding the NL record from 1969 to 1983. He was traded to theOakland Athletics after the 1974 season, becoming adesignated hitter in theAmerican League (AL), and contributed 23 home runs and 81 RBI to finally reach the postseason as the team won their fifth consecutive division title.
When he retired, Williams' 426 career home runs and 4,599 total bases each ranked eighth in major league history among left-handed hitters; his 302 home runs as a left fielder trailed onlyRalph Kiner in NL history. His 392 home runs, 2,510 hits, 1,353 RBI and 4,262 total bases with the Cubs are all team records for left-handed hitters, as were his 402doubles untilMark Grace passed him in 1999. He led NL left fielders inassists anddouble plays four times each, and inputouts andfielding percentage three times each; at the end of his career, he ranked fifth in NL history in games in left field (1,737), and fourth in fielding percentage (.974), sixth in putouts (2,811) andtotal chances (3,005), and ninth in assists (116) in the NL after 1900. He later became a coach with the Cubs for nearly two decades. Williams was inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987,[1] and was selected as a member of the Cubs All-Century Team in 1999.
Billy Williams was born inWhistler, Alabama. His father Frank was astevedore who had also playedfirst base for the semipro Whistler Stars.[2] Williams grew up in a segregated neighborhood,[3] and attended Whistler High School.[4] Entering professional baseball in 1956, Williams started his minor league career with thePonca City Cubs of theSooner State League. After returning to Ponca City in 1957 and hitting 17 home runs, Williams split 1958 between theBurlington Bees andPueblo Bruins.[5]
In his autobiography, Williams recalled that he had never experienced overt racial discrimination until his 1959 promotion to the Class AASan Antonio Missions inSan Antonio, Texas. He was so discouraged that he left the team and went home.Buck O'Neil, the Cubs scout who had originally discovered Williams, was dispatched to Whistler, and he persuaded Williams to return to the team.[6] During the 1959 season, he advanced to the Class AAAFort Worth Cats and played 18 games for the Cubs after being called up in August.[4][5] In 1960, he hit 26 home runs for the Class AAAHouston Buffs and played in 12 major league games after joining the Cubs in September.[4][5]
Williams joined a Chicago Cubs team that by the early 1960s featured stars such asErnie Banks,Ferguson Jenkins, andRon Santo.Rogers Hornsby (winner of seven NL batting titles), who by 1960 was serving as a scout and coach in the Cubs organization, predicted Williams would someday win a batting title.
Williams debuted with the Cubs on August 6, 1959 in a 4-2 win over thePhiladelphia Phillies; as an indication of the expectations placed on him, he batted third, ahead of Banks. In his first plate appearance, he grounded out but drove in a run for his first RBI. Williams picked up his first two hits three days later after being moved up to second in the order, getting a pair ofsingles in a 10-inning, 5-3 loss to thePittsburgh Pirates. However, he never raised his average above .200 in 18 games, batting just .152 (5-for-33), and failing to drive in a run in his last 15 appearances.[7] He returned to the Cubs in late September 1960, with decidedly better results. He raised his average as high as .368, with hits in his first seven games, before settling to a final .277 mark, and hit his first home run on October 1, a 2-run shot offStan Williams in a 14-inning, 10-8 road win over theLos Angeles Dodgers. In 1961, Williams played in 146 games and was selected as the NLRookie of the Year. That year, he hit 25 home runs and drove in 86 runs, batting .278. In 1962, 1964, and 1965, he was named an NL All-Star.[4] On May 1, 1964, Williams had an RBI single and then capped off a 10-run 1st inning with agrand slam in the Cubs' 11-3 road win over theHouston Colt .45s; the fiveRBI in one inning set a team record. He won theNL Player of the Month Award for May with a .455 average, 8 home runs, and 22 RBI. Williams struggled defensively in the first few years of his career, leading NL outfielders inerrors as a rookie. By the mid-1960s, his defense was no longer seen as a serious weakness.[2] He returned to the All-Star Game in 1968, 1972, and 1973.[4]
In each season from 1961 to 1973, Williams hit at least 20 home runs and drove in 84 or more runs. His batting swing was smooth and efficient, with quick wrist action that allowed him to hit for both average and power despite his slender frame. Early in his career, this earned him the nickname "Sweet-Swinging Billy Williams", sometimes shortened to "Sweet Williams" or "Sweet Billy". His nickname was later referenced in the subtitle of his autobiography. He was also nicknamed "Sweet-Swinging Billy from Whistler", in reference to his birthplace in Alabama. On July 17, 1966, in the second game of a road doubleheader against theSt. Louis Cardinals, Williamshit for the cycle in the Cubs' 7-2 win, scoring after each hit; it was the seventh cycle by a Cubs player, the firstnatural cycle, and the second by a left-handed hitter. On May 21, 1968, he set a major league record by playing his 695th consecutive game in the outfield. On July 4, in a 7-4 loss to the Phillies, he brokeBill Nicholson's team record of 205 home runs by a left-handed hitter. On August 21, in the second game of a doubleheader against theAtlanta Braves, he had a career-high seven RBI in the Cubs' 13-5 win. On September 10, Williams had the only three-home-run game of his career in an 8-1 win over theNew York Mets, with the last coming offNolan Ryan; the previous day, he had had four hits, including a double and a pair of home runs, in a 10-3 win over the Phillies. The five home runs in consecutive games tied a major league record. On April 9, 1969, Williams had a career-high four doubles, tying another major league record, in the Cubs' 11-3 win over the Phillies. On June 29, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals, Williams played in his 896th consecutive game, breakingStan Musial's NL record; he belted four hits including a double and a pair oftriples in the Cubs' 12-1 victory. On September 5, his two home runs and two doubles accounted for all of the Cubs' hits in their 9-2 loss to the Pirates.
In 1970, Williams batted .322 with 42 homers and 129 RBI and finished second in the Most Valuable Player voting; surprisingly, despite batting .319 with 26 home runs and 80 RBI at the All-Star break, he was left off the All-Star team. On July 24, he had the only two hits in the Cubs' 9-0 loss to the Braves; it was the fourth time in his career that he had all of the team's hits. Williams set an NL record for consecutive games played with 1,117 from 1963 to 1970 (this record was later eclipsed bySteve Garvey with 1,207 games played from 1975 to 1983). As his consecutive games streak began to accumulate, he was dubbed "Iron Man" by some writers.[8] He co-authored a 1970 children's book calledIron Man, about his childhood.[9] On May 12, 1971, he became the fifth player to drive in 1,000 runs for the Cubs with his 2-run home run in a 9-4 road win over the Phillies. Three days later, Williams hit his 300th career home run in a 6-4 win over theSan Diego Padres, joining Banks as the second Cub to do so, and on August 17 he picked up his 2,000th hit, an 8th-inning single in a 5-4 road loss to the Braves; he was the fifth player to reach that total with the Cubs. In 1972, he was the NL batting champion and named the Major League Player of the Year byThe Sporting News.[10] He paced the major leagues in batting average with a .333 mark, and posted a .606 slugging percentage with 37 home runs and 122 RBI. On July 11, Williams went 8-for-8 in a doubleheader against the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field, raising his batting average at that time from .310 to .328.[11] In August, he won his second and final NL Player of the Month Award (.438 average, 9 home runs, 29 RBI); on August 26, he brokeStan Hack's team record of 2,193 hits by a left-handed hitter, tying his career high with five hits including a pair of home runs in a 10-inning, 10-9 win over theSan Francisco Giants. For the second time, he was the MVP runner-up that year toJohnny Bench of theCincinnati Reds. On June 15, 1973, in an 8-3 road loss to the Braves, he became the fourth player to appear in 2,000 games with the Cubs. On August 15, 1974, Williams became the third Cub to reach the 2,500 hit mark with an 8th-inning single in a 5-3 win over theHouston Astros.
In 1974 the Cubs finished in last place, with their worst record since 1966; after two years of declining production, with the lowest home run and RBI totals of his career, Williams was traded in October to theAmerican League'sOakland Athletics forsecond basemanManny Trillo and two pitchers.[12] He helped lead Oakland to the 1975 AL West championship as adesignated hitter, hitting 23 homers with 81 RBI, and on June 12 became the 16th player to hit 400 career home runs when he homered in a 9-7 road loss to theMilwaukee Brewers. In the postseason, the three-time defendingWorld Series champions were swept in three games in theAL Championship Series by theBoston Red Sox, with Williams going hitless in 7at bats. In 1976, Williams played in 120 games and hit only .211.[4] He retired after playing his last major league game on October 2, picking up a single in his final plate appearance in a 14-inning, 9-8 win over theCalifornia Angels.
In 2,488 games over 18 seasons, Williams posted a .290 batting average with 2,711 hits in 9,350 at bats, 1,410 runs, 434 doubles, 88 triples, 426 home runs, 1,475 RBI, 90stolen bases, 1,045walks, a .361on-base percentage and a .492 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a combined .976 fielding percentage, including games at all three outfield positions and first base.[4]
Williams credited a grade-school teacher with encouraging him to always try to improve, citing the old saying, "Good, better, best / Never let it rest / Until the good is better / And the better is best."[13]
Williams was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in1987. Two weeks later on August 13, Williams' uniform number 26 was retired atWrigley Field. His was the second number to be retired by the Cubs, the first beingErnie Banks' number 14. Following his departure from the Cubs, the number was reassigned to other players from time to time, most notablyLarry Biittner; Williams reclaimed it during several intervals of coaching with the Cubs after his playing days had ended.
In 1999, he was selected to the Cubs All-Century Team and was named as one of 100 finalists to theMajor League Baseball All-Century Team. During the 2010 season, the Cubs honored Williams with a statue outside Wrigley Field. The statue was unveiled in apre-game ceremony before their home game on September 7 against the Astros.[14]
In 2011, Williams was appointed as a member of the Hall of Fame's 16-memberGolden Era Committee (part of theVeterans Committee), which considers ten Golden Era candidates every three years for the Hall of Fame. The ten candidates from the 1947 to 1972 era are first identified by theBaseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) appointed Historical Overview Committee (10-12 BBWAA members) every three years. Former Cubs third basemanRon Santo was the only candidate elected to the Hall of Fame by the committee (including 8 members of the Hall of Fame) during their winter meetings in December 2011 (and 2014).[15]
| Preceded by | Major League Player of the Month May 1964 July 1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle July 17, 1966 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |