#309 Walt Williams - Chicago White Sox

Walter Allen Williams
Chicago White Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'6"  Weight:  165
Born:  December 19, 1943, Brownwood, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  Houston Colt .45s 1964; Chicago White Sox 1967-1972; Cleveland Indians 1973; New York Yankees 1974-1975

Died:  January 23, 2016, Abilene, TX (age 72)

Walt "No Neck" Williams played in parts of 10 seasons in the majors, mostly with the White Sox, and prolonged his professional baseball career with two seasons in Japan and two seasons in Mexico.  Williams would debut with the Colt .45s in 1964, appearing in 10 games, before spending two more full seasons in the minor leagues.  In December 1966, the White Sox selected Williams off waivers from the Cardinals, giving him his first regular playing time in the majors in 1967.  In 1969, Williams earned the everyday right fielder's job for the White Sox, appearing in a career-high 135 games and batting .304.  Williams would play three more seasons in Chicago before spending the 1973 season with the Indians.  He'd see his last big league action as a reserve for the Yankees in 1974 and 1975.  Williams would next find some success in Japan, playing for two seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters and batting .277 in 239 games.

For his major league career, Williams batted .270 with 640 hits, 33 home runs and 173 RBIs.  He'd serve as the first base coach for the White Sox in 1988, and he managed for three seasons in the Rangers' system between 1992 and 1994.

Building the Set / Card #22
September 4, 2022 from Deptford Mall Baseball Card Show
On the Sunday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend, Doug and I drove to the Deptford Mall for a mini baseball card show and Bobby Abreu signing.  We were among the first in line to secure our Abreu signatures, and then we spent about a half hour browsing the six or so tables set up in the mall.  I found one dealer (Cash for Cards, from Delaware) with stacks of vintage commons for sale, adding cards to my then not-yet-officially-collecting 1955 Bowman, 1959 Topps and 1969 Topps sets.  This Williams card was one of seven cards added to my small stack of 1969 Topps cards, and was less than a dollar.

The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

If I didn't know better, I'd say Williams was taking a selfie here.  He's shown wearing Chicago's road uniforms from 1967 and 1968.  The back of the card references his acquisition by the White Sox, his short stature and also refers to Williams as a "speed demon."  It doesn't appear as if the minor league speed graduated to the major leagues for Williams, as he stole only 34 bases over 10 years in 53 attempts.

Accuracy Index:  This card scores a solid 5 for showing Williams in an actual White Sox uniform.

1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Williams' best season in the majors and as the regular right fielder for the White Sox he led the team in hitting (.304) while playing solid defense in the outfield.  Overall, he started 78 games in right filed and 30 games in left field for the fifth place club.  His most frequent partners in the outfield were Carlos May (#654) in left and Ken Berry (#494) in center.

1967 Topps #598

1968 Topps #172

1971 Topps #555

1974 Topps #418

1976 Topps #123

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #598
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1967-1974, 1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Fleer ProCards #2689
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  60 in the Beckett online database as of 1/2/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#308 Wade Blasingame - Houston Astros / #310 Tom Haller - Los Angeles Dodgers