Chicago Cubs: The Heroes of Wrigley Series presents Billy Williams

From humble beginnings to an opportunistic bus ride, Billy from Whistler sought to become a Hall of Fame player and became a Chicago Cubs legend.

Hall of Famer Willie Stargell called him “the best left-handed hitter I ever saw.”  Former Cubs manager Leo Durocher claimed he “was a machine.”  During a span of eight seasons from 1963 to 1970, Billy Williams never missed a game, penciled in the lineup 1,117 consecutive times.  For this, writers began to dub Billy Williams as “Iron Man.”

Billy Leo Williams was born on June 15, 1938, in Whistler, Alabama.  The town was a hotbed for segregation and rampant prejudice, which made growing up hard on Williams and his tight-knit, impoverished family.  Despite lacking the most basic necessities, the family found sanctuary in sports.

His father, Frank, once played semi-pro baseball for a team in Whistler called the Stars.  He would often encourage Williams and his brothers to follow in his footsteps, teaching them the fundamentals of the game in local sandlots.  He likened them to the Alou family, seeing flashes of talent in all of them.  Billy was the standout and, even at a young age, aspired to one-day play baseball professionally.

While playing for the Mobile Black Bears, a team with the luxury of uniforms that traveled the local area, he shared the field with teammate Tommie Aaron.  Tommie, the brother of Milwaukee Brewers slugger, Hank Aaron, was a highly sought after prospect that drew the attention of scouts across the country.  While originally in Mobile to scout the brother of the legendary “Hammerin’ Hank,” Chicago Cubs scout Ivy Griffin became more focused on Williams and signed him instead.

In his autobiography, “My Sweet-Swinging Lifetime with the Cubs,” Williams states his signing bonus consisted of just a cigar for his father and a paid bus ticket to Ponca City, Oklahoma, where the Cubs’ Class-D affiliate played.

Just a few short days after graduating high school, Williams boarded the bus and left Alabama to achieve his dream and play professional baseball.

Chicago Cubs: A one-man show becomes a three-man band

During the late 1950s, Ernie Banks had been a virtual one-man show in Chicago, well on his way of becoming one of the greatest players to ever wear a Cub uniform.  However, by the early 1960s, the team had developed a young core around Banks, headlined by newcomers Santo and Williams. In 1965, the talented trio combined for 95 home runs and 315 RBI.  After finishing in third place in 1967 and again in 1968, the Cubs seemingly looked like they were ready to break through during the summer of 1969.

On June 29, 1969, the Cubs were set to play a doubleheader against their division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals.  Before the start of the second game, the Cubs honored Williams, as that game would officially mark his 896th consecutive game, breaking the National League record that was previously held by St. Louis legend, Stan Musial.  Williams repaid Chicago for the ceremony by going 4-for-5, driving in three runs off two triples and a double, and scoring three runs himself, in a 12-1 shellacking of the Redbirds.

That game saw the Cubs reach their 50th win by the end of June and, for the first time in years, the team looked like contenders, destined to play in their first World Series since 1945. That also meant Williams had a chance to taste postseason play for the first time in his career.

For five months, the Cubs were the talk of the league and they held a five-game lead over the New York Mets going into the final month of the season.  Malignant team play that saw the Cubs drop eight in a row gave the “Miracle Mets” the opportunity to overtake first place en route to a World Series title over the Baltimore Orioles.

During the infamous late season downfall, Williams remained perhaps the only productive Cub in the lineup.  In that final month, he batted .278 with six home runs while the rest of the team contributed a mere .215 average and 17 home runs.

Chicago Cubs: Williams blossoms and gets well-earned recognition

In 1970, at 32 years of age, Williams embarked on what was arguably the best season of his 12-year career with the Cubs.  He had career-highs across the board that included a .322 average, 42 home runs and 129 RBI.

He led the National League in hits (205), total bases (373) and runs (137), also career-highs.  However, the 1970 season also saw the end of his consecutive games streak.  Before the start of a rubber match against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field, a weathered and bruised Williams asked his manager Leo Durocher for something that he hadn’t asked for in seven years – a day off.  It was the only game that he didn’t play in that season.

While the Cubs once again got close to making the playoffs, they fell short, ending the season in second place. It was another disappointing end for the team, but individually, a success for Williams.  He finished second in the National League’s MVP voting, trailing only Cincinnati’s backstop, future Hall of Fame catcher, Johnny Bench.

Williams put together another consistent year in 1971, batting .301 with 28 home runs and 93 RBI but the Cubs continued to regress, dropping to third place in the standings.

He returned to his MVP-esque stature in 1972, winning the National League batting title with a .333 average.  He also led the club in hits (191), home runs (37) and RBI (122), while helping Chicago improve to second place.  More impressively, Williams was just three home runs and three RBI short of the first National League Triple Crown in 35 years.  Just like two years prior, he played the runner-up in the MVP race to Bench.  However, his strong season did not go unrecognized as The Sporting News awarded him as the Major League Player of the Year.

Finally, after nearly a decade and a half in baseball, Billy Williams became a household name.

Chicago Cubs: A taste of postseason baseball?

Over the course of the next two years, Williams remained a productive player but, nonetheless, began to show the wear and tear from playing every day for years on end. And, with these cracks in his facade, his performance waned.

In 1973, he hit 20 home runs and batted .288, a far cry from the year before.  The following year in ‘74, he appeared in just 117 games, batting .280 with only 16 big flies.

By the mid-70s, long gone were the winning ways of the ‘60s, as the Cubs descended deeper into mediocrity.  “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks retired in 1971, and, after the 1973 season, the Cubs overhauled their roster, trading most of the team’s staples that included Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo, Glenn Beckert and Randy Hundley.  The only stalwart left was Billy Williams, though he knew his days were numbered and on Oct. 23, 1974, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics.

The trade would not be complete without Williams’ approval but, with the Cubs coming off an abysmal 96-loss season and many of his former teammates now departed from Chicago, he approved the deal in hopes for an opportunity to play in a World Series, where the A’s where coming off their third-straight championship title.

As Oakland’s full-time designated hitter, the 37-year old Williams provided an additional capable bat in the lineup.  In 1975, he played in 155 games, smacking 23 home runs.  His average dropped dramatically to .244 as he struggled in his new home ballpark, which was not as hitter-friendly as Wrigley.  Regardless of his hitting woes, he was a valuable and welcomed addition to the team, providing veteran leadership in the clubhouse.

The Athletics did make the playoffs, finally giving Williams an opportunity to play in the postseason for the first time in his career.  However, it was a short-lived experience being he was held hitless in seven at-bats and the team was swiftly swept by the Boston Red Sox.

After the 1976 season, which saw Williams hit just .211 in 120 games. The team failed to make the postseason and, at season’s end, the Athletics released him and he decided to hang up his cleats and retire from the game.

Chicago Cubs: An all-time face of the franchise

Following his playing days, Williams remained close to baseball and to the Chicago Cubs.  In 1978, he became a minor league instructor for the team and, in 1980, was promoted to a Major League coach.  Williams sporadically held coaching positions with the team for the remainder of the century.  After leaving the Cubs in 1982 for a coaching staff position with the Athletics from 1983 to 1985, he returned to the Cubs for the 1986 and ’87 seasons, then again from 1992 to 2001.

In 1987, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  A few weeks later, in August, his No. 26 was retired by the Cubs.  He became only the second Cub to receive the honor, joining his former teammate and friend Banks.

During the 2010 season, the Cubs paid tribute to Williams by unveiling a bronze statue of him outside of Wrigley Field.  Banks, Santo, Jenkins, Beckert, Hundley and Don Kessinger surrounded Williams during the ceremony.

“You could see how much fun we had in the ‘60s,” Williams reminisced.  “It’s a joy to know these individuals.”

The following season, in 2011, he was named as a member of the Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee.  The Veterans Committee is a body that provides an opportunity to all individuals who are eligible for induction but ineligible for consideration by the Baseball Writers’ Association of American (BBWAA).  This allowed Williams to build a strong case and add traction to the long-awaited posthumous induction of his dear friend and former teammate, Ron Santo, who died the year before.

The ever-consistent Williams finished his Hall of Fame career as a six-time All-Star, playing in 2,488 games, hitting 426 home runs, driving in 1,475 runs, tallying 2,711 hits and scoring 1,410 runs with a .290 batting average.

While Billy Williams eventually became a household name, it wasn’t as synonymous as other ‘60s counterparts like Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson or Roberto Clemente, and was often overshadowed by his charismatic teammates, Banks and Santo, during his playing days.  However, his consistency and contributions are no longer overlooked in Chicago as he has cemented himself as one of the all-time faces of the Cubs.