Evening star., 1960-09-30
WIN, LOSE OR
DNAV By FRANCIS STANN
Right to the Very End

RIGHT TO THE VERY end of a tremendous career,
Ted Williams carried his with the Boston sports press
Even he bowed out active player Williams
speaking in front of mcrophone at Fenway Park found
the occasion appropriate to eer at the box inmates
Theodore indeed got quite eloquent knights of the key
board" he called them.
This long running battle with the majority of the
Boston press been point Of wonderment the part
of other newspaper serfs for couple of decades There
friender brigade of newsmen in the business than
Bostons BY and large they competent and kind Yet
from the time Williams reported to the Red Sox it seems
that he rubbed the hometown press the wrong way and
vice
BY the same token Williams relations with non-Bos-
ton writers have ranged from merely deSutoy to excellent
and this may bearing Teds future with the Red
Sox YaWkey apparently has tcketed his pet
to high oflce-perhaps field manager perhaps as gen.
eral manager perhaps director of the Boston farm
system.
THE ENIGMA WHO is Williams naturally has stirred
controversy among the the years. Some
of the newSpapermen trying to do job, Williams has
dismissed nothing. To others-notaby old pros like
Red Smith and Arthur Daley and John Carmichael and
Burt Hawkns-he has been cordial, helpful and nforma
tive.
This is a strange man, williams. Observers have
marked that he devlishly selfish, guy who went
back to his pad happy that he and never
mind the fact that Boston was beaten, 8-5.
These cynics have faulted Williams on other
For instance Ted has been accused Of being an
impoSter in eftfied. When he younger-Ted now is
Williams never has been bad outfelder. AS an old
man, balpayers he may have been detriment but
when Ted younger he had enough foot for the Boston
park and he could throw Once his strong that
he tried pitcher Look it up some day.
IN THE POSSIBLE role of general manager-now that
Bucky Harris has let ou-Wams almost would have
to improve his relations with the Boston press Almost
that is The most successful GIN in baseball is George
Weiss of the Yankees and he certainly hasn't won popu
larity contest
AS far getting the best out of Williams editorially
wise it helps to have done lot of fishing Kids and fish
Teds soft spots He will brush off syndicated column
st making enemy for fe yet write entire message
a baseball for school kid with dirty face,
In many ways Williams is like Ty Cobb used to be,
competitor Cobb would your heart out trying win
game. Williams was not so devastating on the base
paths but like Tyrus he studied pitchers and made
professional practice to hate all of them.
And yet on the next day. unlike Cobb, Williams would
be the first and kndest and most helpful critic of pitcher
"he hated" This has happened than once-Ted's
giving advice, when asked to pitchers and hitters alike
regardless of the uniform they wore.
THERE WE'RE WAYS of getting around Williams if
knew how to do it. Fellow officers in the Korean war
testify that he far better than average er yet Will
nas riding in commercial plane processes be nervous
and anxious to be on the ground One day. is recalled
Williams was flying from Boston to Tampa. stewardess
handled report from the captains cabin The air speed
was $40 miles per hour.
Nov that's nice, round dgure-34O" Ted said
chuckling I'D settle for that anytime" This from
guy who hit .4O6, last of all big leaguers to top 400
**
WILLIAMS is PATSY when approached by any guy
who's caught fish, If you've caught bonefsh off the
Florida Keys safsh of Stuart he to know date
time, test line and all other conditions
There was one other in baseball who about
tough to know Williams and he Joe Mccarthy who
all those pennantS for the Yankees Mccarthy when
he felt depressed was inclined to disappear for day
two.
There were mornings when Mccarthy would reject all
nterviewerS. But there other days. too when he
was the grandeSt man of all to interviewerS
Joe theatrical buff. One mention that you had
heard of John Drew all that necessary 1t
opened the gates
r.