Walt Williams

Walter Allen Williams (December 19, 1943 – January 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball league as an outfielder between and , most prominently as a member of the Chicago White Sox where he established himself as a fan favorite for his enthusiastic playing style. He also played for the Houston Colt .45s, Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees before playing for two seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Early life Born in Brownwood, Texas, Williams was nicknamed No-Neck due to his relatively short stature (5 feet 6 inches) combined with a muscular, compact torso and a short neck. His odd physical appearance was the result of a typhus injection he received as a baby. After Williams' hometown was hit by a flood, the government gave typhus injections to prevent the spread of the disease. Williams played in only 10 games with the Colt .45's, when he was selected off waivers on May 26, 1964 by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Williams was sent back to the minor leagues to play for the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Northern League, where he posted a .318 batting average in 88 games. In 1966, Williams repeated his performance with a batting average of .330 and scored 107 runs. Led by manager Eddie Stanky, the 1967 White Sox were in a tight pennant race with the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins before fading to a fourth-place finish. Williams' hustling style of play became evident during a June 14 game against the Red Sox. With a baserunner on second base, Williams fielded a single to right field and threw the ball to home plate.

In 1968, he split his playing time between the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League where he hit for a .318 average and, the White Sox where, he hit for only a .241 average in 63 games. Williams had a breakout season in 1969 when he became the White Sox' starting right fielder and, produced a career-high .304 batting average to finish sixth in the American League batting championship and scored 59 runs. He was one of only six American League players to have a batting average above the .300 mark and, the first White Sox player in six seasons to hit above 300. He appeared in only 77 games, posting a .249 batting average as the White Sox battled for the American League West Division lead before finishing the season in second place, five and a half games behind the eventual world champions, the Oakland Athletics.

During his off-season, Williams volunteered his time to talk to children who were first time drug offenders as part of the Cook County drug abuse prevention program. On October 19, 1972, Williams was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Eddie Leon.

He became a utility player and occasional designated hitter for the Indians in 1973, producing a .284 batting average with career-highs in home runs (8) and runs batted in (38).

On March 19, 1974, Williams was traded to the New York Yankees as part of a three-team trade. He continued his role as a utility player and designated hitter with the Yankees but, only produced a .113 batting average in 43 games.

After being released by the Yankees on January 27, 1976, Williams played in Japan for the Nippon-Ham Fighters from 1976 to 1977. He then served as the White Sox first base coach during the 1988 season. In 1993 and 1994 he managed the Charleston RiverDogs.

Personal life Williams' nephew, Derwin Williams, played in the National Football League. Williams' grandnephew, Mason Williams, played in MLB from 2015 to 2021. Williams died after a heart attack on January 23, 2016, in Abilene, Texas.