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Theodore Samuel Williams
Washington Senators
Manager
Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6'3" Weight: 205
Born: August 30, 1918, San Diego, CA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1936
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1939-42, 1946-60
Manager
Born: August 30, 1918, San Diego, CA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1936
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1939-42, 1946-60
World Series Appearances: Boston Red Sox 1946
As a Manager: Washington Senators 1969-71; Texas Rangers 1972
Died: July 5, 2002, Inverness, FL (age 83)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1966
Known affectionately throughout his career as The Kid, Teddy Ballgame and the Splendid Splinter, Ted Williams is one of the greatest hitters of all-time. Other than his rookie campaign of 1939, his years serving in World War II (1943-45) and his first year in Korea (1952), Williams was named to the American League All-Star team every year he was active, making the club 19 times, including both All-Star teams in 1959 and 1960. The MVP in 1946 and 1949, Williams is the last player to hit over .400 in a single season when he hit .406 in 1941. His Hall of Fame plaque notes he was named Player of the Decade for the 1950s.
As a Manager: Washington Senators 1969-71; Texas Rangers 1972
Died: July 5, 2002, Inverness, FL (age 83)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1966
Known affectionately throughout his career as The Kid, Teddy Ballgame and the Splendid Splinter, Ted Williams is one of the greatest hitters of all-time. Other than his rookie campaign of 1939, his years serving in World War II (1943-45) and his first year in Korea (1952), Williams was named to the American League All-Star team every year he was active, making the club 19 times, including both All-Star teams in 1959 and 1960. The MVP in 1946 and 1949, Williams is the last player to hit over .400 in a single season when he hit .406 in 1941. His Hall of Fame plaque notes he was named Player of the Decade for the 1950s.
Williams won six batting titles, and won the Triple Crown in both 1942 and 1947. Along with his Triple Crown years, he led the league in home runs in 1941 and 1949, and in RBIs in 1939, 1941 and 1949. In 2,292 major league games, Williams batted .344 with 521 home runs and 1,839 RBIs. His career on-base percentage of .482 is still the all-time record, while his slugging percentage of .634 is second all-time. Williams was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966, and came out of retirement in 1969 to manage the Senators. When the Senators moved to Arlington, he was the first manager in Texas Rangers franchise history. Williams had his #9 retired by the Red Sox and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #545
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Rookie Cards & More)
The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Williams was coaxed out of retirement by Senators' new owner Bob Short, with a contract reported to be in excess of $1 million. Williams added former All-Stars Nellie Fox and Wayne Terwilliger to his coaching staff, and guided the Senators to an 86-76 record and their first winning season since joining the league in 1961. It would actually be their only winning season in the 11 years the team played in Washington, before relocating to Texas for the 1972 season. Slugger Frank Howard (#170) was his top hitter, winning the Senators' triple crown by batting .296 with 48 home runs and 111 RBIs. Third baseman Ken McMullen (#319) was another bright spot, batting .272 with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs. First baseman Epstein contributed 30 home runs, his career high.
Sources:
Baseball Reference - Williams / Baseball Reference - 1969 Senators / SABR / Wikipedia
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Rookie Cards & More)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having spent the first half hour or so pulling 98 commons and semi-stars from the neon green binder of Uncle Dick's Cards, and adding the big purchase of the day, the Rollie Fingers (#597) rookie card, I still had some energy and a little more left over in my spending budget. Doug and I kind of walked around aimlessly for a little bit, and a display of vintage Topps cards caught my eye from the dealer Rookie Cards & More.
The prices seemed somewhat low, and I found two cards I needed for our set - this Williams card and the Brooks Robinson All-Star (#421) card. Bundling the cards together, I made an offer to the dealer for the pair, and with the offer accepted, we were two cards closer to completing our set.
The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This card marks Williams' first appearance in a Topps set since 1958. Topps must have been caught somewhat off guard by his hiring as the team's manager in February 1969, as they issued a card for his predecessor, Jim Lemon (#294), early in the set, noting that Lemon had been let go in January. Williams had already appeared in the set on one of the four combo cards (#539), with slugger Mike Epstein (#461).
Accuracy Index: Williams is all business as he poses in his new Senators' uniform, but the greatest hitter of all-time scores a standard +5.
1969 Season
Williams was coaxed out of retirement by Senators' new owner Bob Short, with a contract reported to be in excess of $1 million. Williams added former All-Stars Nellie Fox and Wayne Terwilliger to his coaching staff, and guided the Senators to an 86-76 record and their first winning season since joining the league in 1961. It would actually be their only winning season in the 11 years the team played in Washington, before relocating to Texas for the 1972 season. Slugger Frank Howard (#170) was his top hitter, winning the Senators' triple crown by batting .296 with 48 home runs and 111 RBIs. Third baseman Ken McMullen (#319) was another bright spot, batting .272 with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs. First baseman Epstein contributed 30 home runs, his career high.
On the mound, Dick Bosman (#607) won 14 games and led the league with a 2.19 ERA. Closer Dennis Higgins (#441) won 10 games and saved a team-leading 16. For his efforts turning around the Senators' fortunes, Williams was named American League Manager of the Year following the season.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1939 Play Ball #92
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1954-58, 1969-72, 1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Tribute #38
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 3,200 in the Beckett online database as of 8/6/25.
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First Mainstream Card: 1939 Play Ball #92
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1954-58, 1969-72, 1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Tribute #38
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 3,200 in the Beckett online database as of 8/6/25.
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.
- Lee Maye (rf) - Lee Maye started more games in right field than any other Senators player, and he's in the set on an Indians Rookie Stars (#595) card.
- Zoilo Versalles (inf) - Zoilo Versalles is also in the set with the Padres (#38), a team he'd never play for. He appeared in 31 games for the Senators after playing in 72 games with the Indians. I'd probably have him in my update set with the Indians, but maybe he gets a Senators card too if I need to fill out the checklist.
- Darold Knowles (lhp) - Darold Knowles was 9-2 with a 2.24 ERA in 53 relief appearances. Topps skipped him entirely in its 1969 set.
- Jim Shellenback (lhp) - Jim Shellenback appeared in 30 games and made 11 starts. He's in the set on a Pirates Rookie Stars (#567) card.
- Toby Harrah (ss) - Toby Harrah was a September call-up by the Senators and he'd go on to be a four-time All-Star. His rookie card is in the 1972 Topps set.
- Wayne Terwilliger (coach) - If I bump the Versalles' Senators card from the set, I'd give a card to one of my Dad's all-time favorites. How about that Wayne Ter-WILL-Iger?
Baseball Reference - Williams / Baseball Reference - 1969 Senators / SABR / Wikipedia
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