Fred "Pap" Williams (July 17, 1913 – November 2, 1993), also listed as Pappy Williams in contemporary reports and Papa Williams in secondary sources, was an American professional baseball

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

whose career spanned from 1935 to 1955. In , Williams made 16 appearances for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. He totaled four hits in 19 at-bats, with one walk. Williams batted and threw right-handed.

Early professional career

Williams played baseball, basketball and football at Meridian High School in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

. After graduating in 1934, he made his professional baseball debut for the Columbus/Cleveland Bengals of the

East Dixie League The East Dixie League was an American professional minor league baseball league that operated for two seasons from 1934 to 1935 as a Class C level league. History The East Dixie League was created when the Dixie League split up into the East D ...

in 1935, where he finished the season with a .338

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. In March 1936, he was sold to the

Memphis Chickasaws Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

for Mays Copeland, Culley Rikard, Thomas Swayze and cash considerations. He was sent to the Chicks'

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

affiliate the

Greenville Bucks The Greenville Bucks or sometimes Buckshots were a Cotton States League baseball team in Greenville, Mississippi that existed from 1922 to 1955. They were affiliated with the Memphis Chicks in the 1930s, the New York Yankees in the 1940s and the D ...

, where he batted .333 with 105

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

. For the start of the 1937 season, Williams was optioned to the Meridian Scrappers of the

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated w ...

. In August, he was recalled to Memphis after the Southeastern League season ended. He finished the year tied for the Southeastern League lead in hits, with 163. In December, he was transferred to the

Savannah Indians The Savannah Pathfinders was the original name of the American minor league baseball franchise that represented Savannah, Georgia, during the 20th century. While Savannah's minor league teams sported at least ten nicknames during the century, ...

in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. He split 1938 with Savannah, Meridian and the

Greenville Spinners The Greenville Spinners was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams located in Greenville, South Carolina between 1907 and 1962. Greenville teams played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907, Carolina Association (1908–19 ...

before being returned to Savannah in August. In early August 1939, he was acquired by the Greenwood Crackers of the Cotton States League, but was granted his release on August 9 while suffering a foot injury.

Work as a player-manager

On February 24, 1940, Williams signed with the

Grand Forks Chiefs The Grand Forks Chiefs were a minor league baseball team from Grand Forks, North Dakota. They played in the Northern League from 1934 to 1964, with a couple breaks in between. History Minor league baseball first began in Grand Forks when the 189 ...

of the Northern League as a

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. After batting .320 and managing the club to the Northern League championship, he was sold to the

Winnipeg Maroons The Winnipeg Maroons were a minor League baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which played in the Northern League from 1902–1942. Their home field from 1906 to 1922 was Happyland Park, which had a seating capacity of 4,000. The ...

in March 1941 where he was continued as player-manager. He also appeared as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

11 times, playing the position for the first time in his professional career. He left organized baseball after the 1941 season, playing for the Moss Specials of Meridian in 1943 and coaching an

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

club from Meridian in 1944.

Cleveland Indians

Williams was signed by the

in March 1945. He made his major league debut on April 19 against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

pinch hitting In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

and failing to reach base in the eighth inning. Following his debut, he left to the club to undergo pre-military conscription physical tests in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. According to Williams, both

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

doctors had turned him away for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He returned to the club on May 4. In total, Williams appeared in 16 games for Cleveland, totaling four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

and

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

once. He played first base in three games, while appearing as a pinch hitter in the remaining 13 contests.

Return to the minor leagues

In July 1945, he was optioned to the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different United States, American sports league, leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playin ...

of the Eastern League. He returned to the Southeastern League with the Meridian Peps in March 1946 and was named manager on July 30. He returned to the club as a player for 1947, with Roxie Lawson taking over as manager. He batted .321 in 1946 and .300 in 1947, driving in 97 and 100 runs in those seasons. On March 26, 1948, Williams was released by Meridian. He started the 1948 season for the Kinston Eagles of the

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

and moved to the Rocky Mount Leafs during the last month of the year. He ended the season with a .364 batting average. Williams then signed as player-manager for the

Greenville Greenies The Greenville Greenies were a minor league baseball team based in Greenville, North Carolina. The Greenies played as members of the Coastal Plain League from 1934 to 1941, having been preceded by the Greenville Tobacconists, who played as members ...

for 1949. He spent the 1950 season as the first baseman for the

West Texas–New Mexico League The West Texas–New Mexico League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1937 through 1955, with a hiatus from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. The league started as a Class D level league, upgraded to Class C in 1946 and then a ...

's Borger Gassers, hitting .369. In March 1951, he was named player-manager of the

Waycross Bears Waycross may refer to: *Waycross, Georgia Waycross is the county seat of and only incorporated city in Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 13,942 in the 2020 census. Waycross gets its name from the city's location a ...

in the

Georgia–Florida League The Georgia–Florida League was a minor baseball league that existed from 1935 through 1958 (suspending operations during World War II) and in 1962–1963. It was one of many Class D circuits that played in the Southeastern United States during t ...

. He led the team in hits and runs batted in and batted .465 in the postseason. Williams returned to Waycross in the same capacity in 1952. In 1953, Williams returned to his roll as manager of an American Legion club in Meridian, leading the team to the state playoffs. Williams was named played-manager of the Crestview Braves in the Alabama-Florida League in March 1954, where he batted .403, drove in 111 runs and stole 44 bases at age 40. By March 1955, he was named manager of the Vicksburg Hill Billies in a return to the Cotton States League. He played in 90 games and finished with a .337 batting average in his final season as a professional. Williams worked as an offseason baseball instructor in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

for the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

in 1957.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Fred 1913 births 1993 deaths Baseball players from Mississippi Cleveland Indians players Columbus Bengals players Cleveland Bengals players Greenville Bucks players Meridian Scrappers players Jackson Senators players Memphis Chickasaws players Savannah Indians players Greenville Spinners players Greenwood Crackers players Grand Forks Chiefs players Winnipeg Maroons (baseball) players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players Meridian Peps players Rocky Mount Leafs players Kinston Eagles players Greenville Greenies players Borger Gassers players Waycross Bears players Crestview Braves players Vicksburg Hill Billies players 20th-century American sportsmen