Stan Williams

[William Malone]

Stanley Wilson Williams was born on September 14, 1936 in Enfield, New Hampshire.

The Brooklyn Dodgers signed him as an amateur free agent in 1954. He made his Major League debut for them in 1958, after the franchise had relocated to Los Angeles. Williams spent five seasons with the Dodgers, going 57-46 with a 3.83 ERA. He helped them win a World Series in 1959, and was named to the All-Star team in 1960.

Williams spent two seasons with the New York Yankees, and then had an injury plagued five year stint with the Cleveland Indians. The Minnesota Twins acquired Williams and Luis Tiant as part of a six player trade ahead of the 1970 season. They sent Dean Chance, Bob Miller, Graig Nettles and Ted Uhlaender back to Cleveland.

All these injuries had forced Williams into a reliever role, but he was a force out of the Twins bullpen in his first year with the club. Williams went 10-1 with 15 saves and a 1.99 ERA across 68 appearances in 1970, helping Minnesota win their second consecutive AL West crown. He gave the Twins six shutout innings of relief work during the ALCS that fall, but Minnesota was still swept by the Baltimore Orioles.

1971 wasn't as successful for Williams. He had a 4.15 ERA through 46 outings, and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals late in the year. Williams pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 1972, then retired to go into coaching.

He worked on and off as a big league pitching coach for the next several decades, compiling 14 years for five different clubs between 1975 and 1999. Williams coached for the Red Sox (1975-76), Chicago White Sox (1977-78), Yankees (1980-82 and 1987-88), Cincinnati Reds (1984 and 1990-91) and Seattle Mariners (1998-99). He won a World Series with the Reds in 1990.

Williams later worked as a scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Washington Nationals organizations, before retiring all together in 2010. He passed away in 2021 at the age of 84.

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