| Walt Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1943-12-19)December 19, 1943 Brownwood, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: January 23, 2016(2016-01-23) (aged 72) Abilene, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: April 21, 1964, for the Houston Colt .45's | |
| NPB: April 3, 1976, for the Nippon-Ham Fighters | |
| Last appearance | |
| MLB: September 22, 1975, for the New York Yankees | |
| NPB: September 25, 1977, for the Nippon-Ham Fighters | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .270 |
| Home runs | 33 |
| Runs batted in | 173 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Walter Allen Williams (December 19, 1943 – January 23, 2016) was an Americanprofessional baseball player andcoach. He played inMajor League Baseball and theNippon Professional Baseball league as anoutfielder between1964 and1977, most prominently as a member of theChicago White Sox where he established himself as a fan favorite for his enthusiastic playing style.[1] He also played for theHouston Colt .45s,Cleveland Indians and theNew York Yankees before playing for two seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league with theNippon-Ham Fighters.[2]
Born inBrownwood, Texas, Williams was nicknamedNo-Neck due to his relatively short stature (5 feet 6 inches) combined with a muscular, compact torso and a short neck.[3] His odd physical appearance was the result of atyphus injection he received as a baby.[4] After Williams' hometown was hit by a flood, the government gave typhus injections to prevent the spread of the disease.[4] Williams was so muscular even as a baby that medical personnel were unable to reach a vein, except in the back of his neck.[4] He developed a crick in his neck, which then stiffened and shrank.[4] Williams was sent in adolescence to live with an aunt inSan Francisco, where he graduated fromGalileo High School having played football, basketball and baseball for the school teams.[1]
Williams was signed by the Houston Colt .45's as an amateurfree agent in1963.[2] After spending one season in theminor leagues, he made his major league debut at the age of 20 with the Colt .45's on April 21,1964.[5] Williams played in only 10 games with the Colt .45's, when he was selected off waivers on May 26, 1964 by theSt. Louis Cardinals.[6]
Williams was sent back to the minor leagues to play for theWinnipeg Goldeyes of theNorthern League, where he posted a .318batting average in 88 games.[5] He progressed to theTulsa Oilers in 1965 where, he scored 106runs and hit .330 to win theTexas League batting championship.[5][7] In 1966, Williams repeated his performance with a batting average of .330 and scored 107 runs.[5] On December 14, 1966, he was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals withDon Dennis to the Chicago White Sox for Lee White andJohnny Romano.[6]
Williams returned to the major leagues in 1967 during an era dominated by pitching.[2] He hit for a .240 batting average in1967, in a year in which only four players hit above .300.[8] Led bymanagerEddie Stanky, the 1967 White Sox were in a tightpennant race with theBoston Red Sox,Detroit Tigers and theMinnesota Twins before fading to a fourth-place finish.[9] Williams' hustling style of play became evident during a June 14 game against the Red Sox.[10] With abaserunner onsecond base, Williams fielded asingle toright field and threw the ball tohome plate.[10]First basemanTom McCraw intercepted the throw then, trapped the hitter in arundown as he had strayed too far from first base.ShortstopRon Hansen's return throw to first base was wide and the ball rolled towards the Red Soxdugout. Appearing seemingly from out of nowhere, Williams dived for the ball before it reached the dugout then, he sprang to his feet and threw it to second base where Hansentagged the baserunnerout.[10] With his cheerful demeanor and hustling style of play, Williams became a fan-favorite during his tenure with the White Sox.[4][11]
In1968, he split his playing time between theHawaii Islanders of thePacific Coast League where he hit for a .318 average and, the White Sox where, he hit for only a .241 average in 63 games.[2][5]Carl Yastrzemski would be the only player in theAmerican League to break the .300 mark in 1968.[12] Williams had a breakout season in1969 when he became the White Sox' startingright fielder and, produced a career-high .304 batting average to finish sixth in the American League batting championship and scored 59 runs.[13] He was one of only six American League players to have a batting average above the .300 mark and, the first White Sox player in six seasons to hit above 300.[4] Williamsstruck out only 33 times andgrounded into just 5double plays during the 1969 season.[4] Williams was the fifth-toughest to strike out in the league; he was fanned only once every 14.3at bats.[13]
After the 1969 season, he became embroiled in a contract dispute with White SoxGeneral Manager,Ed Short, who told Williams if he refused the team's salary offer, he wouldn't get the chance to play regularly.[11] Williams' batting average would drop to .251 in 110 games in1970.[2] Short was fired in1971 and Williams rebounded to lead the White Sox with a .294 average and a career-high .344on-base percentage.[2] When the White Sox acquired first basemanDick Allen in1972, they moved former first basemanCarlos May toleft field, leaving Williams to battle for the final two outfield positions withRick Reichardt,Pat Kelly,Jay Johnstone andJim Lyttle.[14] He appeared in only 77 games, posting a .249 batting average as the White Sox battled for theAmerican League West Division lead before finishing the season in second place, five and a half games behind the eventual world champions, theOakland Athletics.[2][15]
During his off-season, Williams volunteered his time to talk to children who were first time drug offenders as part of theCook County drug abuse prevention program.[16] On October 19, 1972, Williams was traded to the Cleveland Indians forEddie Leon.[6] In January 1973, Williams' two-year-old son died fromspinal meningitis while he was playing in theVenezuelan Winter League for theÁguilas del Zulia.[17]
He became autility player and occasionaldesignated hitter for the Indians in1973, producing a .284 batting average with career-highs inhome runs (8) andruns batted in (38).[2] On August 21, 1973, Williams broke up a bid for ano-hit game by former teammateStan Bahnsen when he hit a single with two outs in the ninthinning.[18][19]
On March 19,1974, Williams was traded to the New York Yankees as part of a three-team trade.[20] He continued his role as a utility player and designated hitter with the Yankees but, only produced a .113 batting average in 43 games.[2] He recovered in1975 with a .281 batting average in 82 games, helping the Yankees take first place in the American League East Division in late June before the team faded to third place at the end of the year.[2][21]
After being released by the Yankees on January 27, 1976, Williams played inJapan for theNippon-Ham Fighters from 1976 to 1977.[5] He then played in theMexican League from 1978 to 1979, playing in his final professional game at the age of 35.[5] In 1989, he played for theSt. Lucie Legends of theSenior Professional Baseball Association.
In a 10-year major league career, Williams played in 842games, accumulating 640hits in 2,373at bats for a .270 career batting average along with 33 home runs, 173 runs batted in and anon-base percentage of .310. Williams was a good defensiveoutfielder, committed 19errors in 565 games for afielding percentage of .981.[2] He played the entire 1971 season without committing an error, compiling a 1.000 fielding percentage.[2]
After retiring as a player, Williams worked as the sports director of the Brownwood Community Center in his hometown.[22] He then served as the White Sox first basecoach during the1988 season.[22] In 1992, Williams became the manager of theGastonia Rangers in theSouth Atlantic League.[23] In 1993 and 1994 he managed theCharleston RiverDogs.[23] His managing record over three seasons was 187 wins and 228 losses.[23] Williams also managed theAltoona Rail Kings of theHeartland League in 1997, winning 36 games and losing 36.[24]
Williams' nephew,Derwin Williams, played in theNational Football League. Williams' grandnephew,Mason Williams, played in MLB from 2015 to 2021.[25] Williams died after a heart attack on January 23, 2016, inAbilene, Texas.[1][26]