Billy Williams

Positions: Leftfielder and First Baseman
Bats: Left  •  Throws: Right
6-1, 175lb (185cm, 79kg)
Born: June 15, 1938 in Whistler, AL
High School: Whistler HS (Whistler, AL)
Debut: August 6, 1959 (11,679th in major league history)
vs. PHI 4 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 2, 1976
vs. CAL 2 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1987. (Voted by BBWAA on 354/413 ballots)
View Billy Williams’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: Billy Leo Williams
Nicknames: Sweet Swingin’ Billy from Whistler
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1959

Willie McCovey
Billy Williams
Maury Wills
Tommy Davis
Jim Kaat
Tim McCarver
Jim Perry
Mike Cuellar
Zoilo Versalles

The Billy Williams Teammate Team

C:   Randy Hundley
1B: Ernie Banks
2B: Glenn Beckert
3B: Ron Santo
SS: Bert Campaneris
LF: Lou Brock
CF: Richie Ashburn
RF: Reggie Jackson
DH: Willie McCovey
SP: Fergie Jenkins
SP: Ken Holtzman
SP: Milt Pappas
SP: Vida Blue
SP: Catfish Hunter
RP: Rollie Fingers
M:   Leo Durocher

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Notable Events and Chronology

Sort bySearch Days, Events, Players Title (A - Z)Date (Newest)

June 15, 1938

Future Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams is born

November 30, 1961

Cubs outfielder Billy Williams (.278, 25, 86) is selected as the 1961 National League Rookie of the Year.

April 10, 1962

Houston Colt .45s make their debut with an 11-2 win over the Chicago Cubs

May 4, 1963

Bob Shaw of the Milwaukee Braves sets a major league record by committing five balks. In the 3rd inning, Shaw walks Billy Williams and sends him home with three straight balks. Shaw lasts five innings before he is ejected for arguing. The Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee, 5 – 3.

July 31, 1965

Bob Shaw fires a gem at Shea vs Chicago Cubs – Full Radio Broadcast

September 2, 1965

Ernie Banks hits his 400th home run

July 17, 1966

Billy Williams becomes 5th Cub to hit for the Cycle

September 21, 1966

The smallest crowd in the 46 year-old history of Chicago’s Wrigley Field watches the Cubs beat Cincinnati, 9-3. The 530 fans in attendance at the ballpark for the Wednesday afternoon contest see Billy Williams and Adolfo Phillips go deep in a game that takes only two hours and twenty-four minutes to complete.

July 3, 1967

Billy Williams, Ron Santo, and Randy Hundley all homer for the Cubs in the first, and Rico Carty and Felipe Alou also go deep for the Braves in the same inning in Chicago’s 12-6 victory at Atlanta Stadium. The five round-trippers at the ‘Launching Pad’ tie a major league record for home runs hit by two teams in the same inning, but the barrage marks the first time the feat occurs in the opening frame.

July 31, 1968

Chicago’s Billy Williams, Ernie Banks and Jim Hickman hit 4th-inning home runs as Fergie Jenkins (12-10) beats the Astros, 6 – 1, at Wrigley Field.

April 9, 1969

Billy Williams hits four consecutive doubles, helping the Cubs beat Philadelphia at Wrigley Field, 11-3. The Chicago outfielder’s quartet of two-baggers ties the major-league record for doubles, shared by 29 players and last accomplished by in 1963 by Detroit center fielder Billy Bruton.

May 13, 1969

Cubs rout Padres 19-0 as Ernie Banks drives in 7 and reaches 1500 RBI’s

June 29, 1969

Billy Williams sets a new record for the most consecutive games played by a NL player

July 14, 1969

At Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs top the New York Mets, 1 – 0, to give Bill Hands (11-7) the win over Tom Seaver (14-4). Billy Williams singles home the winner, boosting the Cubs lead to 5 1/2 games. After the last out, Ron Santo jumps up and clicks his heels, igniting a roar from the crowd. The Mets think it’s bush.

May 12, 1970

Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs becomes the ninth player to join the 500-home run club

July 24, 1970

For the 4th time in his career, Billy Williams has the only hit(s) for the Cubs, as he connects safely twice against the Braves’ Phil Niekro. Each time previously, Williams also had multiple-hit games to spoil no-hitters. Niekro coasts to a 9 – 0 victory over Fergie Jenkins.

September 2, 1970

Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs sets a National League record by playing in his 1,117th straight game

September 3, 1970

Billy William’s streak ends at 1117 games

November 18, 1970

Johnny Bench wins the 1970 National League’s MVP Award

April 6, 1971

Billy Williams clubs a 10th-inning homer off Bob Gibson to give the Cubs a 2 – 1 win over the Cards

July 11, 1972

Chicago’s Billy Williams goes 8-for-8 in a doubleheader split against the Astros

July 12, 1972

1972 – Jim Wynn bangs two home runs and drives in four to pace a 10-6 triumph over the Cubs. Norm Miller and Lee May also homer. Chicago’s Billy Williams is retired in his first time up, snapping his consecutive hitting streak, but stays hot with a double and a home run. 

November 22, 1972

Johnny Bench wins his second NL MVP in the last three years

May 24, 1974

With the game scoreless in the 9th‚ the Cards put runners on first and third base with one out. Tim McCarver grounds to Cubs 1B Billy Williams who fires home to C Tom Lundstedt to snag Ted Simmons in a rundown. But as soon as Lundstedt throws to 3B Matt Alexander‚ Simmons races home to an uncovered plate. The Cards win‚ 1 – 0.

October 23, 1974

Chicago Cubs trade longtime star Billy Williams to the Oakland A’s

June 12, 1975

Oakland Athletics outfielder Billy Williams hits his 400th career home run.

November 9, 1976

Oakland A’s give future Hall of Famer Billy Williams his unconditional release

June 7, 1982

Steve Garvey becomes 5th player to play 1000 consecutive games

January 14, 1987

Baseball writers elect Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams to the Hall of Fame

July 26, 1987

Hall of Fame expands by three members. Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Billy Williams, and Ray Dandridge

November 8, 1989

Chicago Cubs outfielder Jerome Walton wins the 1989 National League Rookie of the Year Award

September 28, 2003

Ron Santo, the team’s radio color commentator, joins Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Billy Williams, becoming third player to have his number retired by the Cubs. The nine-time All-Star third baseman, who spent 14 of his 15-year career with Chicago (1960-73), will have his uniform #10 below Ernie Banks’ on the left-field foul pole.

December 28, 2018

Billy Williams Stats & Facts

August 14, 2021

All Time Greatest Left-fielders

Biography

Sweet-swinging Billy Williams quietly carved out a Hall of Fame career. Often overshadowed by flashier players during his heyday, he was a dependable star for 14 full seasons as a Cub. From September 22, 1963 to September 2, 1970, he established a National League record of 1,117 consecutive games played that stood until Steve Garvey broke it in 1983. He also set NL marks for games played by an outfielder in one season (164 in 1965) and consecutive years with 600 or more at-bats (nine, from 1962 to ’70, broken by Pete Rose). He tied major league records with five homers in two consecutive games (September 8 and 10, 1968), and four consecutive doubles in a game (April 9, 1969).

The Alabama native, inspired by the feats of Hank Aaron, signed with the Cubs in 1956. A lefthanded hitter, he batted better than .300 at every minor league level and had brief trials in Chicago in 1959 and 1960. Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby worked with him at Houston (American Association) in ’60 as a roving instructor, and told the Cubs front office that Williams belonged in the majors. Hornsby proved correct. Williams batted .278 with 25 HR and 86 RBI in 1961 to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, but received little publicity in light of Mickey Mantle’s and Roger Maris’s accomplishments that year. That was the first of 13 straight seasons in which Williams delivered at least 20 HR and 84 RBI.

Two of Williams’s greatest games came in 1968; he hit for the cycle on July 17, and hit three homers on September 10. But he was stuck on a losing club, and overshadowed by the jovial Ernie Banks and the outspoken Ron Santo. The arrival of Leo Durocher, another flamboyant figure, brought winning back to the Cubs, with Williams leading the way. June 29, 1969 was designated Billy Williams Day at Wrigley Field; the man of honor broke Stan Musial’s NL record of 896 consecutive games played, and went 5-for-9 as the Cubs took two from the Cardinals. Chicago seemed pennant-bound that year, but fell before the late-season charge of the “Amazing” Mets. While many of the Cubs slumped, Williams hit .304 in September.

Williams had his most productive season in 1970, leading the NL in hits and in runs scored, and finished second to Johnny Bench in HR (42) and RBI (129). In 1972, he hit .333 to win the NL batting crown. That July 11, he went 8-for-8 in a doubleheader. He finished second to Bench in the RBI race and in NL MVP voting, but was named TSN ML Player of the Year.

Williams never played in a World Series. His best chance came after he was traded to Oakland for Darold Knowles, Bob Locker, and Manny Trillo after the 1974 season. Williams was, by then, perfect for the DH role, and helped the A’s to a fifth straight divisional title. But the Red Sox kept Williams and the A’s from the WS with a sweep in the LCS.

Williams retired after batting .211 in 1976 and returned to the Cubs as a coach and batting instructor. He served Oakland in the same capacity in 1983-85, then went back to the Cubs. On his sixth try, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987. The following year, he moved into Chicago’s front office

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Alabaman Billy Williams fine career was punctuated by his 1,117 consecutive games-played streak, at the time a National League record, and his batting title in 1972. He played on talented Cubs teams that never managed to reach the post-season, and when he finally arrived in Oakland late in his career he was a year late to realize his dream of playing in the World Series.

Played For
Chicago Cubs (1959-1974)
Oakland Athletics (1975-1976)

Similar: Dave Parker, Paul O’Neill

Linked: Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins

Best Season, 1972
A year after his consecutive games streak had stopped, Williams enjoyed his finest season, at the age of 34. He paced NL batters in batting (.333 and slugging (.606), while hitting 37 homers and driving in 122 runs. He finished behind Johnny Bench in NL MVP voting. It was Billy’s last great season.

Awards and Honors
1961 NL Rookie of the Year

Post-Season Appearances
1975 American League Championship Series

Factoid
From 1961-1973, Billy Williams opened every season batting third in the Cubs’ lineup. In 1974, manager Whitey Lockman broke that streak when he inserted WIlliams in the cleanup slot on Opening Day.

Feats: Williams played in 1,117 consecutive games (1962-1971).

Hitting Streaks
17 games (1969)
17 games (1962)
16 games (1962)
15 games (1972)

Billy Williams Day
On June 29, 1969, the Cubs honored Williams at Wrigley Field prior to a doubleheader against the rival Cardinals. Williams was presented with gifts to commemorate his breaking of Stan Musial’s National League record for consecutive games played. In the doubleheader, Williams exploded for a 5-for-9 performance, with two doubles and two triples, as the Cubs swept both contests.

Quotes From Williams
“I didn’t believe in guessing on the pitch with two strikes on me. You just look for the ball with two strikes. You can guess on the first strike or maybe the second. All good hitters have good swings all the time.”

All-Star Selections
1962 NL
1964 NL
1965 NL
1968 NL
1972 NL
1973 NL

Coming Soon 

If you would like to add a link or add information for player pages, please contact us here.