Billy Williams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Billy Williams
Williams with the Chicago Cubs in 1964
Left fielder
Born: (1938-06-15) June 15, 1938 (age 87) Whistler, Alabama, U.S.
Batted: Left Threw: Right
debut
August 6, 1959, for the Chicago Cubs
Last appearance
October 2, 1976, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average	.290
Hits	2,711
Home runs	426
Runs batted in	1,475
Teams
Chicago Cubs (1959–1974) Oakland Athletics (1975–1976)
Career highlights and awards
6× All-Star (1962², 1964, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1973) NL Rookie of the Year (1961) NL batting champion (1972) Chicago Cubs No. 26 retired Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1987
Vote	85.7% (sixth ballot)

Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a famous American former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played from 1959 to 1976, spending most of his career with the Chicago Cubs.

Billy was a six-time All-Star. In 1961, he was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year. He hit 25 home runs and had 86 runs batted in (RBI) that year. Billy was known for being very consistent. He hit at least 20 home runs and 80 RBI every year until 1973. He also had a batting average over .300 five times.

Billy Williams, along with Ernie Banks and Ron Santo, helped make the Cubs a much better team in the late 1960s. He was one of the best left-handed hitters in the major leagues during that time.

In 1970, Billy was almost named the NL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). He led the major leagues with 137 runs, 205 hits, and 373 total bases. He also hit 42 home runs and had 129 RBI, which were his best numbers ever. In 1972, he was again a runner-up for MVP. That year, he won the NL batting title with a .333 average. He also hit 37 home runs and had 122 RBI.

Billy played in 1,117 consecutive games for the Cubs between 1963 and 1970. This was an NL record for many years. After the 1974 season, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. He played as a designated hitter in the American League (AL). He helped the Athletics win their division, finally reaching the postseason.

When he retired, Billy Williams had 426 career home runs. His number 26 was retired by the Chicago Cubs. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.

Early Life and Minor League Career

Billy Williams was born in Whistler, Alabama. His father, Frank, was a stevedore (someone who loads and unloads ships) and also played first base for a local baseball team. Billy grew up in a neighborhood where people of different races lived separately. He went to Whistler High School.

Billy started playing professional baseball in 1956. He began his minor league career with the Ponca City Cubs. In 1957, he hit 17 home runs for Ponca City. He continued to play in the minor leagues in 1958.

In 1959, Billy was promoted to the Class AA San Antonio Missions in San Antonio, Texas. He faced some difficulties there and even went home for a short time. However, Buck O'Neil, the Cubs scout who first found Billy, convinced him to return. Later that year, Billy moved up to the Class AAA Fort Worth Cats and played 18 games for the Chicago Cubs. In 1960, he hit 26 home runs for the Class AAA Houston Buffs before joining the Cubs again in September.

Major League Career Highlights

Joining the Chicago Cubs

Billy Williams joined a Chicago Cubs team that had other great players like Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, and Ron Santo in the early 1960s. Rogers Hornsby, a famous baseball player and coach, believed that Billy would one day win a batting title.

Billy played his first game for the Cubs on August 6, 1959. He batted third in the lineup, showing how much the team expected from him. In his first time at bat, he got an RBI. Three days later, he got his first two hits. In 1960, he hit his first home run.

Rookie of the Year and All-Star Seasons

In 1961, Billy played in 146 games and was named the NL Rookie of the Year. He hit 25 home runs and had 86 RBI, with a .278 batting average. He was chosen as an NL All-Star in 1962, 1964, and 1965.

On May 1, 1964, Billy had an amazing game. He hit an RBI single and then a grand slam in the same inning! This gave him five RBI in one inning, which was a team record. He was named the NL Player of the Month for May because he batted .455 with 8 home runs and 22 RBI.

Early in his career, Billy sometimes struggled with his defense. But by the mid-1960s, he became a strong outfielder. He was selected for the All-Star Game again in 1968, 1972, and 1973.

Williams in 1969

"Sweet-Swinging Billy"

From 1961 to 1973, Billy hit at least 20 home runs and had 84 or more RBI every season. He had a very smooth and powerful batting swing, which earned him the nickname "Sweet-Swinging Billy Williams." Sometimes people just called him "Sweet Billy."

On July 17, 1966, Billy achieved a rare feat: he hit for the cycle. This means he hit a single, a double, a triple, and a home run all in the same game! It was the first "natural cycle" for a Cubs player, meaning he hit them in order from single to home run.

On May 21, 1968, he set a major league record by playing his 695th consecutive game in the outfield. On August 21, he had a career-high seven RBI in one game. On September 10, Billy hit three home runs in a single game, including one off the famous pitcher Nolan Ryan. He had hit five home runs in two consecutive games, tying a major league record.

On June 29, 1969, Billy played in his 896th consecutive game, breaking an NL record. He had four hits in that game, including a double and two triples.

Williams in 1973

MVP Runner-Up and Batting Champion

In 1970, Billy batted .322 with 42 home runs and 129 RBI. He finished second in the Most Valuable Player voting. Even though he had a great first half of the season, he was surprisingly not chosen for the All-Star team that year.

Billy set an NL record by playing in 1,117 consecutive games from 1963 to 1970. Because of this amazing streak, some writers called him "Iron Man." He even co-wrote a children's book called Iron Man about his childhood.

On May 12, 1971, he became the fifth player to get 1,000 RBI for the Cubs. Three days later, Billy hit his 300th career home run. On August 17, he got his 2,000th hit.

In 1972, Billy was the NL batting champion, hitting an impressive .333. He also had a .606 slugging percentage with 37 home runs and 122 RBI. He led the major leagues in total bases. For the second time, he was the MVP runner-up, losing to Johnny Bench. On August 26, he tied his career high with five hits in one game, including two home runs.

Moving to Oakland

In 1974, the Cubs had a tough season. After two years where his numbers were a bit lower, Billy was traded to the American League's Oakland Athletics in October.

1975 Oakland Athletics #23 Billy Williams road jersey

He helped Oakland win the 1975 AL West championship as a designated hitter. He hit 23 home runs and had 81 RBI. On June 12, he became the 16th player in history to hit 400 career home runs. In the postseason, the Athletics were swept by the Boston Red Sox in the AL Championship Series. Billy retired after the 1976 season, playing his last game on October 2.

Career Statistics

In his 18 seasons, Billy Williams played in 2,488 games. He had a .290 batting average with 2,711 hits, 1,410 runs, 434 doubles, 88 triples, 426 home runs, and 1,475 RBI. He also had 90 stolen bases and 1,045 walks. His fielding percentage was .976, showing he was a good defensive player too.

Later Years and Honors

Billy Williams's number 26 was retired by the Chicago Cubs in 1987.

Billy Williams often talked about how a teacher in grade school encouraged him to always try to improve. She used to say, "Good, better, best / Never let it rest / Until the good is better / And the better is best."

Billy was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. Just two weeks later, on August 13, his uniform number 26 was retired by the Cubs at Wrigley Field. This was only the second number the Cubs had ever retired, the first being Ernie Banks' number 14. Billy later returned to coach for the Cubs for almost two decades.

Retired number 26 at Wrigley Field

In 1999, Billy was chosen for the Cubs All-Century Team. In 2010, the Cubs honored him with a statue outside Wrigley Field. The statue was revealed in a special ceremony before a game on September 7.

In 2011, Billy Williams was appointed to the Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee. This committee helps decide which players from 1947 to 1972 should be considered for the Hall of Fame.

See also