Saturday, 23 November 2024

    Dick Williams

    • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
    • Embed from Getty Images
    • Sport(s): Baseball
    • Statistics: 2 World Series Championships (1972 & 1973)
      1,571-1,451 Record
      Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
      Member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
      Member of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame
    • A journeyman as a baseball player, Dick Williams had a similar fate as a manager, but it came with substantially more success.

      Three years after he last played, the team in question, the Boston Red Sox, brought him back as a manager. The year was 1967, and Williams brought an authoritarian style to Boston. The Red Sox overachieved, winning the American League pennant with Williams named the Manager of the Year in his first season. The Red Sox could not repeat, and the hard-nosed style of Williams was turning off players. Boston faltered late in 1969, and Williams was let go, beginning a pattern that followed the rest of his career.

      In 1971, The Oakland Athletics signed Williams, and he brought them to back-to-back World Series wins in 1972 and 1973. Williams should have been on top of the world, but Charlie Finley, the Athletics' owner, meddled far too much for Williams liking, and he bolted for the New York Yankees and George Steinbrenner.

      The deal was voided, as Finley stated that he still owed him another year of service, and after arbitration, New York had another manager, and Williams was without a job. As the California Angels made him an offer, the wait was short, but the Angels were terrible, and Williams' methods did not motivate the young team.

      Williams would then bounce around, with stints in Montreal, San Diego, and Seattle, with his methods proving only effective for a short period of time. Still, it was Williams who took San Diego to their first National League pennant in 1984.

      Williams may not have been a beloved manager, and his tenures with organizations were short, but he did produce results.

      We are proud to nominate Dick Williams for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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