Dick Williams

Dick Williams was widely regarded as one of the very best managers in baseball in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. He is the only manager to take three teams (the Red Sox, the Oakland A's and the San Diego Padres) to the World Series. In the 21 years of his active managerial service (1967-88), he managed each year except for 1969, despite the fact of moving from team to team, such was the demand for his services. After taking the Red Sox to the World Series in 1967 (the "Impossible Dream" pennant) in his rookie year, he then won three divisional titles and two World Series with the Oakland A's before quitting after the 1973 World Series due to the interference of A's owner Charlie Finley. He then managed the California Angels, the Montreal Expos, the San Diego Padres (winner of the National League pennant in 1984) and the Seattle Mariners. A former Marine, Dick Williams had an acerbic personality that rankled players and wore out his welcome with owners when the players he originally fired up no longer responded to him. He was a disciplinarian who demanded that all of his players toe the line. Williams was a brilliant tactician that was among the earliest advocates of using relievers situationally, not just when a starter faltered. After narrowly missing being elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee who oversee managerial selections in 1999, he was considered a shoo-in for enshrinement in the Hall until an unfortunate incident in early 2000. Unfortunately, Dick Williams was arrested for indecent exposure six weeks before the Veterans Committeee met to vote on the inductees for 2000. The arrest nearly killed his chances for being enshrined with the other baseball immortals at Cooperstown. He finally was inducted and took his place in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.