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Richard Hirschfeld Williams
Boston Red Sox
Manager
Born: May 7, 1929, St. Louis, MO
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1951-54, 1956; Baltimore Orioles 1956-57; Cleveland Indians 1957; Baltimore Orioles 1958; Kansas City Athletics 1959-60; Baltimore Orioles 1961-62; Boston Red Sox 1963-64
World Series Appearances: Brooklyn Dodgers 1953; Boston Red Sox 1967; Oakland Athletics 1972-73
As a Manager: Boston Red Sox 1967-69; Oakland Athletics 1971-73; California Angels 1974-76; Montreal Expos 1977-81; San Diego Padres 1982-85; Seattle Mariners 1986-88
Died: July 7, 2011, Las Vegas, NV (age 82)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2008
As a player, Dick Williams appeared in 13 big league seasons, mostly with the Orioles in three different stints. He was a valuable super utility player, able to play all three outfield positions, first base, second base and third base. Williams earned the most playing time with the Athletics in 1959 and 1960, batting .266 with career highs in home runs (16) and RBIs (75) in 1959, and batting a career-best .288 in 1960. Primarily a pinch-hitter over the final years of his career, Williams last played in the majors in 1964 with the Red Sox.
He remained with the Red Sox organization as manager for their Triple-A team in 1965 and 1966, leading his team both seasons to first place finishes. The hard-nosed and intense Williams was named Red Sox manager in 1967, and he led his "Impossible Dream" team to the World Series, the first time Boston had appeared in the Fall Classic since 1946. He won Manager of the Year honors from The Sporting News, but was out of Boston two years later after clashing with ownership and star Carl Yastrzemski (#130). Williams next managed the Athletics, leading the club to a 101-win season in 1971, and World Championships in 1972 and 1973. He surprisingly resigned after another clash with ownership, this time A's owner Charlie Finley.
As a Manager: Boston Red Sox 1967-69; Oakland Athletics 1971-73; California Angels 1974-76; Montreal Expos 1977-81; San Diego Padres 1982-85; Seattle Mariners 1986-88
Died: July 7, 2011, Las Vegas, NV (age 82)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2008
As a player, Dick Williams appeared in 13 big league seasons, mostly with the Orioles in three different stints. He was a valuable super utility player, able to play all three outfield positions, first base, second base and third base. Williams earned the most playing time with the Athletics in 1959 and 1960, batting .266 with career highs in home runs (16) and RBIs (75) in 1959, and batting a career-best .288 in 1960. Primarily a pinch-hitter over the final years of his career, Williams last played in the majors in 1964 with the Red Sox.
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| 1981 Donruss #453 |
Williams would go on to manage the Expos for five seasons, the Padres for four seasons and the Mariners for three seasons before stepping away from major league dugouts. For his lifetime record of 1,571-1,451, including four pennants and two World Series victories, Williams was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 2008. He's also a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame (2006) and the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame (2009).
Building the Set / Card #330
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
This card is very similar to Williams' 1968 Topps card, with the young manager just turning his head slightly for the Topps photographer when compared to his prior year baseball card. There's an unknown Red Sox player making a cameo appearance directly behind Williams. The back of the card focuses solely on his successful 1967 campaign, leading the Red Sox to the World Series.
Accuracy Index: Williams' card earns a +5.
1969 Season
The Red Sox couldn't repeat the success they found in 1967, and Williams guided the team to a 82-71 record before being fired on September 23rd and replaced by Eddie Popowski for the final nine games of the season. Popowski had been the third base coach for the Red Sox. Shortstop Rico Petrocelli (#215) had a career year, batting .297 with 40 home runs and 97 RBIs, and finishing seventh in the league's MVP voting. He led all American League players with a bWAR of 10.0. Yastrzemski also had a 40 home run season and led the club with 111 RBIs. Ray Culp (#391) was a 17-game winner and the team's top starter, and Sparky Lyle (#311) saved 17 games, third best in the league.
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First Mainstream Card: 1952 Topps #396
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (29): 1952-53, 1957-64, 1967-69, 1971-73, 1975-81, 1983-88
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Topps Heritage #134
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 209 in the Beckett online database as of 7/4/24.
Update Cards
For my 1965 Topps blog, I used the team card posts to come up with five or six candidates per team for an imaginary update series. With no team cards in the 1969 Topps set, I'll use each manager card for this exercise, and come up with a list of deserving cards to be included in an 8th/update series.
The Red Sox had quite a few candidates for this imaginary set, but I limited them to just six cards.
- Eddie Popowski (manager) - Popowski guided the team to a 5-4 record over the final week-plus of the 1969 season. He'd manager one more game on an interim basis in 1973 after Eddie Kasko departed.
- Mike Nagy (rhp) - Mike Nagy was 12-2 in 33 appearances, including 28 starts, and he'd get his rookie card in the 1970 Topps set.
- Sonny Siebert (rhp) - The early season Ken Harrelson (#240) trade with the Indians caused issues for the Topps checklist creators. Sonny Siebert (#455) and reliever Vicente Romo (#267) are in the 1969 Topps set with the Indians, but my update set would show them both on the Red Sox.
- Vicente Romo (rhp)
- Dick Schofield (2b) - Dick Schofield (#18) joined the Red Sox in December 1968, and he's in the set with his former team, the Cardinals.
- Red Sox Rookie Stars - Carlton Fisk / Bill Lee - Why not? Carlton Fisk made his debut on September 18th and Spaceman Bill Lee joined the Red Sox on June 20th, making 20 appearances.
Baseball Reference - Williams / Baseball Reference - 1969 Red Sox / SABR / Wikipedia
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