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July 14, 2011

Hall of Fame manager Williams dead at 82

THE DAILY STAR

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, who won two World Series titles with Oakland and led two other franchises to pennants, died Thursday, July 7 at age 82. Williams died from a ruptured aortic aneurysm at a hospital near his home in Henderson, Nev.

“We are extremely saddened by the sudden loss of Dick Williams, a Hall of Fame manager whose commitment to the game was legendary,” National Baseball Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark said in a media release sent by the Cooperstown shrine. “He was an intense leader on the field and a gracious member of the Hall of Fame family, who loved returning to Cooperstown. His participation ... at our Father’s Day Hall of Fame Classic gave fans and fellow Hall of Famers great memories as he managed both teams at Doubleday Field. Our thoughts are with his wife, Norma, at this very difficult time.”

Williams, enshrined in Cooperstown in 2008 as a selection from the defunct Veterans Committee, oversaw the Knucksies’ 8-6 victory over the Wizards in the Hall of Fame Classic on June 19 at Doubleday Field. He made several trips to the mound during the third annual exhibition game, which featured six Hall of Famers and 24 former major leaguers.

Before the exhibition, Williams attended a media conference at the Clark Sports Center.

“Well, I’d get fired in a week,” Williams said if he managed today. “My style of play  doesn’t fit in with all these millionairesnow. Listen, more power to the player. He’s getting that money. And they’re bigger, they’re stronger, but I don’t think they know baseball as well as we knew it or still know it.”

During his induction speech in 2008, Williams said of his style: “They had to know the fundamentals; I was strict about that. I wasn’t the easiest guy, probably, to work for. I’ll go back to (Padres infielder) Tim Flannery in San Diego. He said, ‘I love Dick as a manager ... but if I ever saw him when I was through playing baseball, I’d run him over with my car.’ Well, Timmy and I laugh about that now, but I still know what model car he drives and where he lives.”

Williams is the fourth Hall of Famer who has died since Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey were inducted into the Hall last July at the Clark Sports Center.

Former Brooklyn Dodgers center fielder Duke Snider died Feb. 27 at age 84; ex-Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller succumbed to cancer Dec. 15 at age 92; and former Minnesota Twins standout Harmon Killebrew, who also lost a battle with cancer, died May 17 at age 74.

Hall of Famer Goose Gossage, who pitched two scoreless innings in the Hall of Fame Classic, commented three weeks ago at the Clark Sports Center about the recent deaths of Hall of Famers.

“Duke Snider, Robin Roberts, Harmon and Bob, oh my God,” he said. “Bob was such a fan’s player _ a great patriot, a great American, a great baseball player, a great fans’ player. He loved the fans. He loved these things and he certainly would’ve been here if he could have. He’ll be certainly in our memory (and) in our thoughts, and so will Harmon.”

Williams won pennants with Boston and San Diego as well as the championships in Oakland, joining Hall of Famer Bill McKechnie as the only managers to take three franchises to the World Series.

“I admired the man,” said Athletics broadcaster Ray Fosse, who was Williams’ starting catcher in Oakland. “I played for a lot of managers, and I can’t say there was one I respected more than Dick Williams, as a person and a manager. He was a good man.”

He also helped the Montreal Expos to their only playoff berth _ in the strikeshortened 1981 season _ as he had much success turning around struggling franchises with his hard-nosed disciplinarian style.

“I owe Dick a lot,” said Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who played for Williams in San Diego. “The city and the Padres owe him a lot. I think a lot of fans bought right into it like the players did, like in ‘82, when he first took over, then ‘84 when we went to the World Series. I think the fans realized that his style of play, the way he wanted us to play, could be successful if we bought in, and we did.”

But he had his biggest success during three tumultuous seasons in Oakland in the 1970s. Williams led the Athletics to 101 wins and a division title his first year in 1971 before being swept by Baltimore in the AL championship series.

He then won World Series titles the next two years _ with Charley Finley’s brash team led by Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers and Catfish Hunter _ as the A’s became the first team to repeat since the 1961-62 Yankees.

Fed up with Finley’s meddling style of ownership, Williams resigned after the 1973 title instead of sticking around for what turned out to be a third straight championship season.

“He was a brilliant and feisty leader, and universally recognized as one of the greatest managers in major league history,” A’s owner Lew Wolff said. “Beyond his status as a Hall of Famer, Dick’s name will forever be associated with the Oakland Athletics, as he led the team to back-toback World Series titles in 1972 and 1973, and played a key role in bringing the Bay Area its first ever team World Championship.”

Before coming to Oakland, Williams was part of Boston’s memorable “Impossible Dream” team in 1967, which won the pennant for the first time since 1946. That team then lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

The Red Sox had finished ninth in the 10-team American League the previous year, helping form Williams’ reputation as a master of the turnaround.

“Dick Williams’ lasting legacy will be his innate ability to lead, turning franchises into winners wherever he managed,” National Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson said. “No one wore the mantle of ‘Hall of Famer’ more proudly than Dick. We will miss him in Cooperstown.”

Williams also took the Expos to the NL championship series in 1981 and led the Padres to their first playoff berth and first NL pennant in 1984. San Diego lost to Detroit in five games.

“He knew how to win,” said Rangers pitching coach Andy Hawkins, who threw for Williams on the Padres. “He got the most out of his people, he demanded the most out of his people and he got it.”

Williams had an overall record of 1,571- 1,451 in 21 seasons, also spending time with the Angels and the Seattle Mariners. “Well, he wasn’t like they are today.

He could raise some hell,” said former Yankees coach Don Zimmer, who played with Williams in Brooklyn in the 1950s. “Great manager. He really knew what he was doing.”

Williams also played 13 years in the majors for the Dodgers, Orioles, Indians, A’s and Red Sox. He had a .260 career average with 70 homers and 331 RBIs. He retired after the 1964 season and soon began his career as a manager.

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