Dick Williams
A fiercely competitive manager who engineered one of baseball's greatest turnarounds with the 'Impossible Dream' Red Sox, then won World Series in both leagues.
1929–2011 (age 82)·American baseball player and manager·Birthday: May 7·The Silent Generation
Biography
Dick Williams managed with a chip on his shoulder and a blueprint for victory, leaving a trail of transformed teams in his wake. A journeyman player, he brought a player's grit and a tyrant's intensity to the dugout. His legend was forged in 1967 when he took a Boston Red Sox team that had finished ninth the previous year and, with a mix of young talent like Carl Yastrzemski and sheer force of will, drove them to the 'Impossible Dream' American League pennant. That shocking success became his trademark: he was a turnaround artist who demanded perfection and brooked no dissent. Williams won his first World Series with the Oakland A's in 1972, harnessing that club's volatile talent into a back-to-back championship dynasty. He later took the San Diego Padres, a franchise that had never had a winning season, to their first National League pennant in 1984. Abrasive and brilliant, he belonged to a breed of old-school commanders who believed fear and respect were two sides of the same coin, and his record—four different franchises led to the postseason—proves his difficult methods often worked.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Dick was born in 1929, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dick Was Born
The biggest hits of 1929
#1 Movie
The Broadway Melody
Best Picture
The Broadway Melody
Dick's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1929Born
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1934Started school
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1942Became a teenager
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1945Could drive
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1947Could vote
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1950Turned 21
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1959Turned 30
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1969Turned 40
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 50
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 60
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 70
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 80
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2011Died at 82
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
Key Achievements
- Managed the 1967 Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant in a stunning worst-to-first season known as the 'Impossible Dream.'
- Won back-to-back World Series championships as manager of the Oakland Athletics in 1972 and 1973.
- Became only the second manager in history to lead three different franchises (Red Sox, Athletics, Padres) to the World Series.
- Led the San Diego Padres to their first-ever National League pennant and World Series appearance in 1984.
Did You Know?
He was a teammate of Jackie Robinson on the 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers.
He hit a home run in his first major league at-bat in 1951.
He and Lou Piniella are the only managers to lead four different teams to a season with 90 or more wins.
He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for his success managing the Montreal Expos.
“I'm not here to be liked, I'm here to be respected.”
