Williams, Theodore Samuel

▪ 2003

“Ted”; “The Splendid Splinter” 

      American baseball player (b. Aug. 30, 1918, San Diego, Calif.—d. July 5, 2002, Inverness, Fla.), was the last player in the 20th century to hit over .400 for a season. Williams burst into the American League in 1939, hitting .327 and leading the league with 145 runs batted in (RBIs); he went on to terrorize pitchers for 18 more full seasons while he played outfield for the Boston Red Sox. Sometimes called “the greatest hitter who ever lived,” Williams was noted for his power and his clutch hitting—altogether he batted in a total of 1,839 runs—as well as for his irascibility; he spit at fans, refused to tip his cap to acknowledge applause, and maintained long feuds with Boston sportswriters. He had an intense rivalry with Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio during the 1940s. Williams had a .406 average in 1941, but DiMaggio, who had a record 56-game hitting streak that year, was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) instead; six years later DiMaggio again beat Williams for MVP, this time by one vote; nevertheless, DiMaggio called Williams “the best pure hitter I ever saw.” Williams was raised by his mother, a Salvation Army worker, played sandlot baseball in San Diego, and at age 19 was signed by Red Sox general manager Eddie Collins, who admired Williams's smooth and powerful left-handed swing. By 1942 Williams led the league in the three major batting categories—average, home runs, and RBIs—a feat he repeated in 1947. He was a navy flight instructor during World War II and returned to baseball in 1946, when he led the Red Sox to an American League pennant. During the Korean War he flew combat missions as a marine pilot and was decorated for bravery. Williams had a lifetime batting average of .344, slugged 521 home runs, and had a .483 on-base average, the highest of any major-league player; he led the league in hitting six seasons, the last of them in 1958, when he was 40. Williams retired from playing in 1960. In 1969 he became manager of the Washington Senators, and he was named American League Manager of the Year in his first season; he continued to manage Washington for three more years. He wrote several books, including his autobiography, My Turn at Bat (1969; with John Underwood), and The Science of Hitting (1971; with John Underwood). After his death his heirs disputed in court whether to cremate his body, as his will directed, or to freeze it, as his son, John Henry Williams, requested.

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