Billy Williams - wikipedia Billy Williams For other uses, see Billy Williams ( disambiguation ). Billy Williams Williams in 2013 Left fielder Born : ( 1938 - 06 - 15 ) June 15, 1938 ( age 80 ) Whistler, Alabama Batted : Left Threw : Right MLB debut August 6, 1959, for the Chicago Cubs Last MLB 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 # 26 retired Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Vote 85.71 % ( sixth ballot ) Billy Leo Williams ( born June 15, 1938 ) is a retired American baseball left fielder who played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the Chicago Cubs and two seasons for the Oakland Athletics. Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1999, he was named a finalist for the Major League Baseball All - Century Team. Williams was one of the best Cubs players. He was the 1961 National League ( NL ) Rookie of the Year and was an NL All - Star for six seasons with the Cubs. In 1970, he had a. 322 batting average with 42 home runs and 129 runs batted in ( RBIs ), led the NL with 205 hits, and was the NL Most Valuable Player runner - up. In 1972, he won the NL batting title, hitting. 333. Williams hit over 400 home runs in his career, including 30 or more in five seasons. He also hit over. 300 in five seasons and had over 100 RBIs in three seasons. Williams was a highly competitive player on Cubs teams that never reached the postseason. When he finally played in the postseason during the second to the last year of his career with the Athletics, the `` A 's '' did not get to the World Series. In 1999, he was selected as a member of the Cubs All - Century Team. Contents 1 Early life 2 MLB career 2.1 Chicago Cubs 2.2 Oakland Athletics 3 Later years 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Early life Billy Williams was born in Whistler, Alabama. His father Frank was a stevedore who had also played first base for the semipro Whistler Stars. Williams grew up in a segregated neighborhood. He attended Whistler High School. Entering professional baseball in 1956, Williams started his minor league career with the Ponca City Cubs of the Sooner State League. After returning to Ponca City in 1957 and hitting 17 home runs, Williams split 1958 between the Burlington Bees and Pueblo Bruins. In his autobiography, Williams recalled that had never experienced overt racial discrimination until his 1959 promotion to the Class AA San Antonio Missions in San Antonio, Texas. He was so discouraged that he left the team and went home. Buck O'Neil, the Cubs scout who had originally discovered Williams, was dispatched to Whistler and he persuaded Williams to return to the team. During the 1959 season, he advanced to the Class AAA Fort Worth Cats and even played 18 games for the Cubs. In 1960, he hit 26 home runs for the Class AAA Houston Buffs and played in 12 major league games. MLB career Chicago Cubs Williams joined a Chicago Cubs team that would feature stars such as Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, and Ron Santo by the early 1960s. Rogers Hornsby ( seven NL batting titles ), who by 1960 was serving as a scout and coach in the Cubs organization, predicted Williams would someday win a batting title. Williams debuted with the Cubs late in the 1959 season, and played in a total of 30 games in both the 1959 and 1960 seasons. In 1961, he played in 146 games and was selected as the NL Rookie of the Year. That year he hit 25 home runs and drove in 86 runs. In 1962, 1964 and 1965, he was named an NL All - Star. He won the NL Player of the Month Award in May 1964 with a. 455 average, 8 HR, and 22 RBI. Williams struggled defensively in the first few years of his career, leading NL outfielders in errors as a rookie. By the mid-1960s, his defense was no longer seen as a serious weakness. He would return to the All - Star Game in 1968, 1972, and 1973. Williams in 1961 In each season from 1961 to 1973, Williams hit at least 20 home runs and drove in 84 or more runs. His batting swing was smooth and efficient, with quick wrist action that allowed him to hit for both average and power despite his slender frame. Early in his career, this earned him the nickname `` Sweet - Swinging Billy Williams '', sometimes shortened to `` Sweet Williams '' or `` Sweet Billy '' ( perhaps suggested by the flowers known as sweet williams ). His nickname was later referenced in the subtitle of his autobiography. He was also nicknamed `` Sweet - Swinging Billy from Whistler '', suggesting his birthplace in Alabama. His home run feats included 3 homers in one game and 5 homers in two consecutive games. Twice in one season, Williams belted 4 extra-base hits in a game. In 1970, Williams batted. 322 with 42 homers and 129 RBIs and finished second in National League Most Valuable Player voting ; surprisingly, despite batting. 319 with 26 HR and 80 RBI at the All Star break, he was left off the All Star team. Williams set a National League record for consecutive games played with 1,117 from 1963 to 1970 ( eclipsed by Steve Garvey with 1,207 from 1975 to 1983 ). As his consecutive games streak began to accumulate, he was dubbed `` Iron Man '' by some writers. He co-authored a 1970 book called Iron Man. ( 4 ) In 1972, he was the National League batting champion and named the major league Player of the Year by The Sporting News. He paced the league in batting average with a. 333 mark, also posting a. 606 slugging percentage while collecting 37 home runs and 122 runs batted in ( RBI ). In August, he won his second and final NL Player of the Month Award (. 438 BA, 9 HR, 29 RBI ). For the second time, he was the NL MVP runner - up to Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds ; Williams never won the award. Oakland Athletics Williams was traded to the American League 's Oakland Athletics after the 1974 season for second baseman Manny Trillo and two pitchers. He helped lead Oakland get to the 1975 American League West championship as a designated hitter, hitting 23 homers with 81 RBI. In 1976, Williams played in 120 games and hit only. 211. He retired that year. Williams accumulated a lifetime. 290 batting average with 426 home runs and 1475 RBI. Later years Billy Williams 's number 26 was retired by the Chicago Cubs in 1987. Williams credited a grade school teacher with encouraging him to always try to improve, citing the old saying, `` Good, better, best / Never let it rest / Until the good is better / And the better is best. '' Williams was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. On August 13, 1987, Williams ' uniform number 26 was retired at Wrigley Field. His was the second number to be retired by the Cubs, the first being Ernie Banks ' number 14. Following his departure from the Cubs, the number was reassigned to other players from time to time, most notably Larry Biittner, although Williams reclaimed it during several intervals of coaching with the Cubs after his playing days had ended. In 1999, he was selected to the Cubs All - Century Team and was named as one of the one hundred finalists to the Major League Baseball All - Century Team. During the 2010 season, the Cubs honored Williams with a statue outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago. The statue was unveiled in a pre-game ceremony before their home game on September 7 against the Houston Astros. Retired number 26 at Wrigley Field In 2011, Williams was appointed as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame 's 16 - member Golden Era Committee ( replaced the Veterans Committee ) which considers ten Golden Era candidates every three years for the Hall of Fame. The ten candidates from the 1947 to 1972 era are first identified by the Baseball Writers ' Association of America ( BBWAA ) appointed Historical Overview Committee ( 10 - 12 BBWAA members ) every three years. Former Cubs third baseman Ron Santo was the only Golden Era candidate elected to the Hall of Fame by `` The Committee '' ( includes 8 members of the Hall of Fame ) during their winter meetings in December 2011 ( and 2014 ). See also List of Major League Baseball home run records List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders List of Major League Baseball batting champions List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle Major League Baseball consecutive games played streaks Notes Jump up ^ National Baseball Hall of Fame ( 1 ) Retrieved May 5, 2015 ^ Jump up to : Armour, Mark. `` Billy Williams ''. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved September 6, 2013. Jump up ^ Williams, p. 1. ^ Jump up to : `` Billy Williams Statistics ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Billy Williams Minor League Statistics & History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2015. Jump up ^ Williams, p. 8 - 11. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Jump up ^ Cooperstown : Where the Legends Live Forever, by Lowell Reidenbaugh, edited by Joe Hoppel, and compiled by the Editors of The Sporting News. New York, Gramercy Books, 1999. Jump up ^ A 's get Billy Williams in trade with Chicago Jump up ^ Williams, p. 210. Jump up ^ http://archive.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/09/billy-williams-statue-unveiled-during-ceremonies.html Jump up ^ National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, December 5, 2011 : `` Ron Santo Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by Golden Era Committee '' ( 3 ) References Williams, Billy ; Mitchell, Fred ( 2008 ). Billy Williams : My Sweet - swinging Lifetime with the Cubs. Triumph Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 60078 - 050 - 9. Retrieved March 26, 2015. Further reading Armour, Mark. `` Billy Williams ''. SABR. Treder, Steve ( February 8, 2005 ). `` The Williams - Santo Cubs : 1961 - 1965 ''. The Hardball Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2005 -- via Wayback Machine. Career highlights at BaseballLibrary.com via Wayback Machine `` Its all about R-e-s-p-e-c-t for ' Sweet Swingin ' Billy Williams External links Billy Williams at the Baseball Hall of Fame Career statistics and player information from Baseball - Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball - Reference ( Minors ), or Baseball Almanac, or Retrosheet Preceded by Willie Mays César Cedeño Major League Player of the Month May 1964 July 1972 Succeeded by Jim Bunning Ken Henderson Preceded by Carl Yastrzemski Hitting for the cycle July 17, 1966 Succeeded by Randy Hundley National League Rookie of the Year Award 1947 : J. Robinson 1948 : Dark 1949 : Newcombe 1950 : Jethroe 1951 : Mays 1952 : Black 1953 : Gilliam 1954 : Moon 1955 : Virdon 1956 : F. Robinson 1957 : Sanford 1958 : Cepeda 1959 : McCovey 1960 : F. Howard 1961 : B. Williams 1962 : Hubbs 1963 : Rose 1964 : Allen 1965 : Lefebvre 1966 : Helms 1967 : Seaver 1968 : Bench 1969 : Sizemore 1970 : Morton 1971 : E. Williams 1972 : Matlack 1973 : Matthews 1974 : McBride 1975 : Montefusco 1976 : Metzger & Zachry 1977 : Dawson 1978 : Horner 1979 : Sutcliffe 1980 : Howe 1981 : Valenzuela 1982 : Sax 1983 : Strawberry 1984 : Gooden 1985 : Coleman 1986 : Worrell 1987 : Santiago 1988 : Sabo 1989 : Walton 1990 : Justice 1991 : Bagwell 1992 : Karros 1993 : Piazza 1994 : Mondesi 1995 : Nomo 1996 : Hollandsworth 1997 : Rolen 1998 : Wood 1999 : Williamson 2000 : Furcal 2001 : Pujols 2002 : Jennings 2003 : Willis 2004 : Bay 2005 : R. Howard 2006 : Ramírez 2007 : Braun 2008 : Soto 2009 : Coghlan 2010 : Posey 2011 : Kimbrel 2012 : Harper 2013 : Fernández 2014 : deGrom 2015 : Bryant 2016 : Seager 2017 : Bellinger National League batting champions 1876 : Barnes 1877 : White 1878 : Hines 1879 : Hines 1880 : Gore 1881 : Anson 1882 : Brouthers 1883 : Brouthers 1884 : Kelly 1885 : Connor 1886 : Kelly 1887 : Thompson 1888 : Anson 1889 : Brouthers 1890 : Glasscock 1891 : Hamilton 1892 : Brouthers 1893 : Hamilton 1894 : Duffy 1895 : Burkett 1896 : Burkett 1897 : Keeler 1898 : Keeler 1899 : Delahanty 1900 : Wagner 1901 : Burkett 1902 : Beaumont 1903 : Wagner 1904 : Wagner 1905 : Seymour 1906 : Wagner 1907 : Wagner 1908 : Wagner 1909 : Wagner 1910 : Magee 1911 : Wagner 1912 : Zimmerman 1913 : Daubert 1914 : Daubert 1915 : Doyle 1916 : Chase 1917 : Roush 1918 : Wheat 1919 : Roush 1920 : Hornsby 1921 : Hornsby 1922 : Hornsby 1923 : Hornsby 1924 : Hornsby 1925 : Hornsby 1926 : Hargrave 1927 : Waner 1928 : Hornsby 1929 : O'Doul 1930 : Terry 1931 : Hafey 1932 : O'Doul 1933 : Klein 1934 : Waner 1935 : Vaughan 1936 : Waner 1937 : Medwick 1938 : Lombardi 1939 : Mize 1940 : Garms 1941 : Reiser 1942 : Lombardi 1943 : Musial 1944 : D. Walker 1945 : Cavarretta 1946 : Musial 1947 : H. Walker 1948 : Musial 1949 : Robinson 1950 : Musial 1951 : Musial 1952 : Musial 1953 : Furillo 1954 : Mays 1955 : Ashburn 1956 : Aaron 1957 : Musial 1958 : Ashburn 1959 : Aaron 1960 : Groat 1961 : Clemente 1962 : Davis 1963 : Davis 1964 : Clemente 1965 : Clemente 1966 : Alou 1967 : Clemente 1968 : Rose 1969 : Rose 1970 : Carty 1971 : Torre 1972 : Williams 1973 : Rose 1974 : Garr 1975 : Madlock 1976 : Madlock 1977 : Parker 1978 : Parker 1979 : Hernandez 1980 : Buckner 1981 : Madlock 1982 : Oliver 1983 : Madlock 1984 : Gwynn 1985 : McGee 1986 : Raines 1987 : Gwynn 1988 : Gwynn 1989 : Gwynn 1990 : McGee 1991 : Pendleton 1992 : Sheffield 1993 : Galarraga 1994 : Gwynn 1995 : Gwynn 1996 : Gwynn 1997 : Gwynn 1998 : L. Walker 1999 : L. Walker 2000 : Helton 2001 : L. Walker 2002 : Bonds 2003 : Pujols 2004 : Bonds 2005 : Lee 2006 : Sanchez 2007 : Holliday 2008 : Jones 2009 : Ramírez 2010 : González 2011 : Reyes 2012 : Posey 2013 : Cuddyer 2014 : Morneau 2015 : Gordon 2016 : LeMahieu 2017 : Blackmon Sporting News MLB Player of the Year Award 1936 : Hubbell 1937 : Allen 1938 : Vander Meer 1939 : DiMaggio 1940 : Feller 1941 : T. Williams 1942 : T. Williams 1943 : Chandler 1944 : Marion 1945 : Newhouser 1946 : Musial 1947 : T. Williams 1948 : Boudreau 1949 : T. Williams 1950 : Rizzuto 1951 : Musial 1952 : Roberts 1953 : Rosen 1954 : Mays 1955 : Snider 1956 : Mantle 1957 : T. Williams 1958 : Turley 1959 : Wynn 1960 : Mazeroski 1961 : Maris 1962 : Wills & Drysdale 1963 : Koufax 1964 : Boyer 1965 : Koufax 1966 : Robinson 1967 : Yastrzemski 1968 : McLain 1969 : McCovey 1970 : Bench 1971 : Torre 1972 : B. Williams 1973 : Jackson 1974 : Brock 1975 : Morgan 1976 : Morgan 1977 : Carew 1978 : Guidry 1979 : Stargell 1980 : Brett 1981 : Valenzuela 1982 : Yount 1983 : Ripken Jr. 1984 : Sandberg 1985 : Mattingly 1986 : Clemens 1987 : Bell 1988 : Hershiser 1989 : Mitchell 1990 : Bonds 1991 : Ripken Jr. 1992 : Sheffield 1993 : Thomas 1994 : Bagwell 1995 : Belle 1996 : Rodriguez 1997 : Griffey Jr. 1998 : Sosa 1999 : Palmeiro 2000 : Delgado 2001 : Bonds 2002 : Rodriguez 2003 : Pujols 2004 : Bonds 2005 : Jones 2006 : Howard 2007 : Rodriguez 2008 : Pujols 2009 : Pujols 2010 : Hamilton 2011 : Verlander 2012 : Cabrera 2013 : Cabrera 2014 : Kershaw 2015 : Donaldson 2016 : Altuve 2017 : Altuve Chicago Cubs retired numbers 10 Ron Santo 14 Ernie Banks 23 Ryne Sandberg 26 Billy Williams 31 Ferguson Jenkins & Greg Maddux Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1987 BBWAA Vote Catfish Hunter ( 76.3 % ) Billy Williams ( 85.7 % ) Veterans Committee Ray Dandridge J.G. Taylor Spink Award Jack Lang Ford C. Frick Award Jack Buck Members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Pitchers Alexander Bender Blyleven M. Brown R. Brown Bunning Carlton Chesbro Clarkson Cooper Coveleski Cummings Day Dean Dihigo Drysdale Eckersley Faber Feller Fingers Ford B. Foster Galvin B. Gibson Glavine Gomez Gossage Grimes Grove Haines Hoffman Hoyt Hubbell Hunter Jenkins R. Johnson W. Johnson Joss Keefe Koufax Lemon Lyons Maddux Marichal Marquard Martínez Mathewson McGinnity Méndez Morris Newhouser Nichols Niekro Paige Palmer Pennock Perry Plank Radbourn Rixey Roberts Rogan Ruffing Rusie Ryan Seaver H. Smith Smoltz Spahn Sutter Sutton Vance Waddell Walsh Welch Wilhelm J. Williams Willis Wynn Young Catchers Bench Berra Bresnahan Campanella Carter Cochrane Dickey Ewing Ferrell Fisk J. Gibson Hartnett Lombardi Mackey Piazza Rodríguez Santop Schalk First basemen Anson Bagwell Beckley Bottomley Brouthers Cepeda Chance Connor Foxx Gehrig Greenberg G. Kelly Killebrew Leonard McCovey Mize Murray Pérez Sisler Suttles Taylor Terry Thomas Thome Second basemen Alomar Biggio Carew E. Collins Doerr Evers Fox Frisch Gehringer Gordon Grant Herman Hornsby Lajoie Lazzeri Mazeroski McPhee Morgan J. Robinson Sandberg Schoendienst Third basemen Baker Boggs Brett J. Collins Dandridge J. Johnson Jones Kell Lindstrom Mathews Molitor B. Robinson Santo Schmidt Traynor J. Wilson D. White Shortstops Aparicio Appling Bancroft Banks Boudreau Cronin Davis T. Jackson Jennings Larkin Lloyd Maranville Reese Ripken Jr. Rizzuto Sewell O. Smith Tinker Trammell Vaughan Wagner Wallace Ward Wells Yount Outfielders Aaron Ashburn Averill Bell Brock W. Brown Burkett Carey Charleston Clarke Clemente Cobb Combs Crawford Cuyler Dawson Delahanty DiMaggio Doby Duffy Flick Goslin Griffey Jr. Guerrero Gwynn Hafey Hamilton Heilmann Henderson Hill Hooper Irvin R. Jackson Kaline Keeler Kelley K. Kelly Kiner Klein Mantle Manush Mays T. McCarthy Medwick Musial O'Rourke Ott Puckett Raines J. Rice S. Rice F. Robinson Roush Ruth Simmons Slaughter Snider Speaker Stargell Stearnes Thompson Torriente L. Waner P. Waner Wheat B. Williams T. Williams H. Wilson Winfield Yastrzemski Youngs Managers Alston Anderson Cox Durocher Hanlon Harris Herzog Huggins La Russa Lasorda López Mack J. McCarthy McGraw McKechnie W. Robinson Selee Southworth Stengel Torre Weaver D. Williams Executives / pioneers Barrow Bulkeley Cartwright Chadwick Chandler Comiskey Dreyfuss R. Foster Frick Giles Gillick Griffith Harridge Hulbert B. Johnson Kuhn Landis La. MacPhail Le. MacPhail Manley O'Malley Pompez Posey Rickey Ruppert Schuerholz Selig Spalding Veeck Weiss S. White Wilkinson G. Wright H. Wright Yawkey Umpires Barlick Chylak Conlan Connolly Evans Harvey Hubbard Klem McGowan O'Day ISNI : 0000 0000 4582 9075 LCCN : no97067974 SNAC : w61k2h73 VIAF : 24210043 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billy_Williams&oldid=853584320 '' Categories : National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Major League Baseball left fielders Chicago Cubs players Oakland Athletics players Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Major League Baseball players with retired numbers National League batting champions National League All - Stars Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Chicago Cubs coaches Oakland Athletics coaches Chicago Cubs executives Ponca City Cubs players Pueblo Bruins players Burlington Bees players San Antonio Missions players Fort Worth Cats players Houston Buffs players Baseball players from Alabama People from Prichard, Alabama Sportspeople from Chicago 1938 births Living people African - American baseball players African - American baseball coaches Seattle Mariners coaches American sportsmen Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from November 2016 Articles with permanently dead external links Articles with dead external links from September 2017 Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia 한국어 日本 語 Polski Português Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 5 August 2018, at 20 : 03 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did billy williams play for the cubs
Answer: 1959–1974