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Billy Leo Williams
Chicago Cubs
Outfield
Born: June 15, 1938, Whistler, AL
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1959-74; Oakland Athletics 1975-76
Hall of Fame Induction: 1987
Billy Williams was as automatic, consistent and reliable as any outfielder of his era. For 16 seasons with the Cubs, Williams batted third and played left field (except for a two-year detour to right field), appearing in at least 150 games or more in 12 straight seasons. He was called an Iron Man before Cal Ripken, Jr. came along, as he played in 1,117 consecutive games between 1963 and 1970. Williams was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961, and in 1962 he was named to the first of six All-Star teams. He batted over .300 in five seasons, and collected at least 25 home runs in 10 seasons. He enjoyed a career year in 1970, batting .322 with 42 home runs and 129 RBIs, finishing second in the league's MVP voting behind Johnny Bench (#95). Williams led the league that season in runs scored (137) and hits (205). He won the league's batting crown in 1972 with a .333 average, again finishing as the MVP runner-up behind Bench. Williams was dealt to the Athletics after the 1974 season for Manny Trillo, Darold Knowles and Bob Locker (#548). He spent the final two seasons of his career as the designated hitter for Oakland, finally reaching the postseason in 1975 with the club.
Billy Williams was as automatic, consistent and reliable as any outfielder of his era. For 16 seasons with the Cubs, Williams batted third and played left field (except for a two-year detour to right field), appearing in at least 150 games or more in 12 straight seasons. He was called an Iron Man before Cal Ripken, Jr. came along, as he played in 1,117 consecutive games between 1963 and 1970. Williams was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961, and in 1962 he was named to the first of six All-Star teams. He batted over .300 in five seasons, and collected at least 25 home runs in 10 seasons. He enjoyed a career year in 1970, batting .322 with 42 home runs and 129 RBIs, finishing second in the league's MVP voting behind Johnny Bench (#95). Williams led the league that season in runs scored (137) and hits (205). He won the league's batting crown in 1972 with a .333 average, again finishing as the MVP runner-up behind Bench. Williams was dealt to the Athletics after the 1974 season for Manny Trillo, Darold Knowles and Bob Locker (#548). He spent the final two seasons of his career as the designated hitter for Oakland, finally reaching the postseason in 1975 with the club.
Williams retired with a .290 average, 2,711 hits, 426 home runs and 1,475 RBIs. He served as a long-time coach for the Cubs (1980-82, 1986-87, 1992-01) with another brief tenure as a coach for the Athletics (1983-85). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987 and his #26 was retired by the Cubs that same year. In 1999, Williams was selected to the Cubs All-Century Team and a statute of the long-time outfielder was installed outside Wrigley Field in 2010.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #631
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Williams played in all 163 Cubs games, batting .293 with 21 home runs and 95 RBIs. His 188 hits were fifth best in the league, his 33 doubles were third best and he lead all National League left fielders with 11 assists. From his SABR biography, written by Mark Armour:
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #141
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1961-76
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #76RO-BW
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 938 in the Beckett online database as of 2/6/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Niagara Sports Cards)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. My third stop was a smaller table with the impossible to pass up offer of 1969 Topps commons that were only $1, unless marked. The binder was right at the end of the table, making it an even easier sell. The prices on some of the cards were stunningly low, so I was even more surprised when the dealer, Niagara Sports Cards, gave me an even deeper discount upon tallying up my total.
I found 12 cards needed from Niagara Sports Cards, and this was the ninth of those 12, and the 72nd of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day. I paid $11 for it after the bulk dealer discount was applied.
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
There's a ballpark cop forever immortalized with a cameo behind Williams on this card. The cartoon on the back highlights his 1961 Rookie of the Year win, while the write-up touts his team-leading totals in 1968 for RBIs, doubles and triples. Williams appears earlier in the set on the National League RBI Leaders card (#4). As far as I can tell, this card has never been reprinted by Topps.
Accuracy Index: The model of consistency, like Williams himself, his card scores a +5.
1969 Season
Williams played in all 163 Cubs games, batting .293 with 21 home runs and 95 RBIs. His 188 hits were fifth best in the league, his 33 doubles were third best and he lead all National League left fielders with 11 assists. From his SABR biography, written by Mark Armour:
The 1969 Cubs finally put it all together . . . for five months. On September 2 they led the surprising New York Mets by five games and appeared to have the race in hand. Shockingly, the Cubs dropped the next eight while the Mets were going 8-2. The Cubs lost the lead and finished eight games behind the rampaging New Yorkers. Chicago finished with 92 wins, its best record since 1945. Although Williams hit .278 with six home runs during that fateful September, his team hit just .215 with 17 homers. On September 5, Williams hit two doubles and two home runs off Pittsburgh's Steve Blass (#104), but these were the only four hits Blass allowed in a complete game 9-2 victory. Losing or winning, Williams just kept playing every day, playing the same game he always played. "I am not tough to live with after the loss," he admitted. "I don't carry the game home. I do what I can, and when I'm done I leave the park. I leave my glove and I leave my spikes and everything about the game behind me."
The Cubs honored Billy Williams with a "day" on June 29, 1969. The Cubs hosted the Cardinals in a double-header, and in the second game Williams broke Stan Musial's NL record by playing in his 896th consecutive game. In the first game, when Williams tied the record, he finished 1-for-4 while Ferguson Jenkins (#640) bested Bob Gibson (#200), 3-1. In the nightcap, Williams celebrated his record by finishing four-for-five, including a double and two triples, in a 12-1 rout. Between games the Cubs held a ceremony, for which they had flown Williams' mother and aunt in from Whistler. Williams was showered with gifts, including a Chrysler Imperial automobile, capping one of the most memorable days of Williams' career.
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First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #141
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1961-76
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #76RO-BW
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 938 in the Beckett online database as of 2/6/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
