The Splendid Splinter Says Good-Bye

By Lou Parrotta

On Friday, July 5, 2002, the baseball world was dealt another loss when arguably the greatest hitter who ever lived, Ted Williams, died in Florida.  In the wake of the recent deaths of Hall of Fame announcer Jack Buck and St. Louis Cardinals star pitcher Darryl Kile, Teddy Ballgame's death brings further sadness to an already mourning baseball world.

Ted Williams only ever wanted people to call him "the greatest damned ballplayer who ever lived" once his playing days were over.  With feats like hitting .406 in 1941 and the winning of two Triple Crown Awards (a Triple Crown is when you lead the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in), it is a safe bet that he was.  He was so adept at hitting that he literally broke down the science that surrounds hitting a baseball.  He became an expert on the art of hitting, and he frequently made instructional films and wrote books on that art.

Ted Williams was not always a really nice guy to be around as a player.  He was noted for telling off both the Boston fans and the media that surrounded the game.  He despised attention, didn't tipped his cap as a player, and rarely cavorted with his teammates.  This does not mean he did not make friends.  Bobby Doerr, a Hall of Famer himself, and Johnny Pesky, who was visibly moved at a tribute to "The Kid" at Boston's Fenway Park on the day of Ted's death, were two of his closest friends in the game.  They had nothing but great things to say of the Hall of Fame slugger, who later in life became a legend who fans and players alike clamored to meet.

Ted Williams, upon his election to the Hall of Fame in 1966, spoke out in his Induction Speech in defense of admitting former Negro League players, banned by color from playing Major League Baseball, into the Hall of Fame.  He chastised baseball's writers and baseball's leaders for not allowing former players like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson to be enshrined in baseball's ultimate fraternity.  He was a defender of equal rights and integration, and unfortunately he will be remembered least for his contributions to civil rights.

Another item that takes a back seat to his playing career was the fact that Ted Williams was a war hero.  When Uncle Sam came asking in WWII, Williams forwent his career to serve his country.  He gave up some prime years of his life, but he said that one of the greatest things he ever did was defend his country as a Marine.  Then, in a shocking announcement in the early 1950s, Williams was called up for active duty during the Korean War.  He became one of the few ball players, the other noted player was New York Yankees second baseman Jerry Coleman, to serve the United States in two wars.  It was during Korea, too, that Williams paired up with another American icon, John Glenn.  As a matter of fact, Glenn was Williams' commanding officer, but he chose Williams to be his wingman as they flew their 39 missions together.  Who would have thought that these two American heroes would have a common bond such as this despite being from two different walks of life - baseball and space exploration?

Ted Williams has passed on to the great diamond in the sky.  It is quite possible he has a crowd around him in heaven talking about the finer points of hitting a baseball.  The John Wayne of baseball has left the park for the last time, but he has left a legacy that will be revered by all who follow him; even rabid Yankees fans like me.