Jimmy Williams

James Thomas Williams (December 20, 1876 – January 16, 1965) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1909. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, New York Highlanders, and St. Louis Browns. The power-hitting Williams set several records during his rookie season and led a major league in triples three times. He stood at 5' 9" and weighed 175 lbs.

Career Williams was born in St. Louis, Missouri. and started his professional baseball career in 1896. In 1897, he established himself as a premiere power hitter, slugging 31 home runs for the Western Association's St. Joseph Saints. He hit more homers than any two other players in the league combined, and he also paced the circuit in slugging percentage and total bases. In 1898, Williams' power dropped off when he moved up to the class A Western League. However, he did raise his batting average to .343 (third in the league) and still led the WL in slugging percentage at .494.

Williams was then purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the team's starting third baseman in 1899 and made an immediate impact. In May and June of that year, he ran off a 26-game hitting streak. He continued to rip extra-base hits throughout the entire season and eventually ranked sixth in the National League in doubles (28), first in triples (27), and third in home runs (9). The 27 triples are also an MLB rookie record. No longer facing major league quality pitching, he batted over .310 in both 1910 and 1911 and was one of the league's best sluggers. He helped the Millers win four AA pennants during his time there before retiring after the 1915 season, by which time he was 38 years old.

In 1457 games over 11 seasons, Williams posted a .275 batting average (1508-for-5485) with 780 runs, 242 doubles, 138 triples, 796 RBI, 151 stolen bases, 474 bases on balls.337 on-base percentage and .396 fielding percentage. He finished his career with a .945 fielding percentage. He played 1176 games at second base, 275 games at third base and 4 games at shortstop.

After his baseball career ended, Williams held various jobs, including one as an area scout and coach for the Cincinnati Reds. He was married to Nannie May Smith in 1900, and the marriage lasted until her death in 1949. They had two sons.

Jimmy Williams died in 1965 in St. Petersburg, Florida.