#453 Dick Williams
This is actually the second card of Dick Williams that I have posted on here. I posted the first one in 2008. It was a cool '84 Fleer checklist card that Rod, from Padrograhs, gave me. Less than three years after that post, Dick passed away. But, I was still able to add him to my Donruss set thanks to my wife stepping up her game this past Christmas. This is the third card, out of four, that she bought me to help me out with the project. All four cards were of deceased players.
Dick managed in the Majors for 21 years. He was a constant presence with some team every year from 1967 to 1988, with the exception of 1970. Over that span, he managed the Red Sox, A's, Angels, Expos, Padres, and Mariners. He took the Sox, A's, and Padres to the World Series and won in twice with the A's in the early '70s.
One of the best seasons he had was with the Expos in 1979. That club finished 95-65. Those 95 wins were the second most victories he had in a single season. Unfortunately, the Expos came up two games short to the eventual World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates.
Dick finished his managerial career with a 1571-1451 record. He won manager of the year three times and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
'81 Donruss Tracker: #215
Sweet card. As an A's and Padres fan, I'm also a fan of Williams. He's also the only manager to manage both of my teams along with the Montreal Expos (the third team I collect).
ReplyDeleteThree posts in a row of guys I also have autographs of. Unfortunately, I have never gotten a 1981 Donruss card signed.
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