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.
