# Davey Williams

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{{short description|American baseball player (1927-2009)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name       = Davey Williams
| image      = Dave Williams 1955.jpg
| position   = [Second baseman](/source/Second_baseman)
| bats       = Right
| throws     = Right
| birth_date  = {{birth date|mf=yes|1927|11|2}}
| birth_place = [Dallas, Texas](/source/Dallas%2C_Texas), U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2009|8|17|1927|11|2}}
| death_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate  = September 16
| debutyear  = 1949
| debutteam  = New York Giants
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate  = July 30
| finalyear  = 1955
| finalteam  = New York Giants
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label = [Batting average](/source/Batting_average_(baseball))
| stat1value = .252
| stat2label = [Home runs](/source/Home_runs)
| stat2value = 32
| stat3label = [Runs batted in](/source/Runs_batted_in)
| stat3value = 163
| teams      = 
* [New York Giants](/source/New_York_Giants_(NL)) ({{baseball year|1949}}, {{baseball year|1951}}–{{baseball year|1955}})
| highlights = 
* [All-Star](/source/Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game) ([1953](/source/1953_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game))
* [World Series](/source/World_Series) champion ({{Wsy|1954}})
}}
'''David Carlous Williams''' (November 2, 1927 – August 17, 2009) was an American professional [baseball](/source/baseball) player and [coach](/source/coach_(baseball)). During his [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) career, spent entirely with the [New York Giants](/source/New_York_Giants_(NL)) of the [National League](/source/National_League_(baseball)), the [second baseman](/source/second_baseman) appeared in 517 [games](/source/games_played) over six seasons (1949; 1951−1955), and was selected to the [1953 NL All-Star team](/source/Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game). Williams was listed as {{convert|5|ft|10|in}} tall and {{convert|165|lb}}, and batted and threw right-handed. He was born in [Dallas, Texas](/source/Dallas%2C_Texas), where he graduated from [Sunset High School](/source/Sunset_High_School_(Texas)) in 1945. He is a Member of the Sunset High School Hall of Fame.

thumb|left|160px|Williams in 1953

==Playing career==
Williams' most productive major league season came in 1952, when he posted career-highs in [home run](/source/home_run)s (13), [runs](/source/run_(baseball)) (70), [RBI](/source/run_batted_in) (48) and [extra-base hit](/source/extra-base_hit)s (42), with a .254 [batting average](/source/batting_average_(baseball)) in 138 games. In 1953, he hit a career-best .297, which him earned a selection to the NL All-Star squad. In the [1953 Midsummer Classic](/source/1953_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game), played July 14 at [Crosley Field](/source/Crosley_Field), [Cincinnati](/source/Cincinnati), Williams took over from [Red Schoendienst](/source/Red_Schoendienst) as the National League's second sacker in the [seventh inning](/source/inning_(baseball)) with the Nationals leading 2–0. He draw a [base on balls](/source/base_on_balls) off [Mike Garcia](/source/Mike_Garcia_(baseball%2C_born_1923)) in his only [plate appearance](/source/plate_appearance) and played [errorless](/source/error_(baseball)) ball in the field as the Senior Circuit won, 5–1.<ref>[Retrosheet](/source/Retrosheet) [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1953/B07140NLS1953.htm box score: 1953 MLB All-Star Game]</ref>  Then, in {{mlby|1954}}, Williams played in a career-high 142 games, starting all but one of them as the Giants' second baseman. His batting average fell to .222, but the Giants captured the National League [pennant](/source/pennant_(sports)). In the [1954 World Series](/source/1954_World_Series) that followed, Williams started all four games of the Fall Classic. He went hitless in 11 [at bat](/source/at_bat)s with a run batted in and handled 20 [chances](/source/chance_(baseball)) with one error, as the Giants swept away the [Cleveland Indians](/source/Cleveland_Indians) to become world champions.

However, 1954 was his last full season as a player. On April 23, 1955, Williams severely injured his back in an on-field collision with [Jackie Robinson](/source/Jackie_Robinson) of the [Brooklyn Dodgers](/source/Brooklyn_Dodgers) — the result of a [brushback](/source/brushback_pitch) battle between the two bitter rivals. The Giants' [pitcher](/source/pitcher), [Sal "The Barber" Maglie](/source/Sal_Maglie), was notorious for knocking batters down at the plate. Maglie had angered the Dodgers by throwing several pitches high and inside on Brooklyn hitters, including a pitch that sailed behind Robinson's head. In the fourth inning, Robinson dropped down a [bunt](/source/bunt_(baseball)), intending to retaliate for the knockdown pitch by crashing into Maglie as he fielded the ball. But Maglie did not come off the pitching mound and Robinson instead collided with Williams, who was covering first base.<ref name="1955 Brawl">{{cite web|page=228|last=Sheehan|first=Joseph M.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/04/24/223908632.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |title=Dodgers Defeat Giants, 3–1|work=The New York Times|date=April 24, 1955|accessdate=October 23, 2020}}</ref> Robinson later said that his intended target on the play had been Maglie. Williams was able to finish the game and appear in 82 games for the 1955 Giants. But he reinjured his back in midseason and persistent back pain forced his retirement as a player at the age of 27. Teammate [Alvin Dark](/source/Alvin_Dark) recalled that Williams was never the same after the collision.<ref>Dark and Underwood, p. 49</ref>

In a six-season career, Williams was a .252 hitter (450-for-1,785) with 32 home runs and 163 RBI in 517 games, including 235 runs, 163 RBI, 61 [doubles](/source/double_(baseball)), 10 [triples](/source/triple_(baseball)) and six [stolen base](/source/stolen_base)s. A good contact, free swinger hitter, he collected 164 [walks](/source/base_on_balls) and 144 [strikeout](/source/strikeout)s in 1,993 plate appearances. At second base, he recorded a .978 [fielding percentage](/source/fielding_percentage) (52 [errors](/source/error_(baseball)) in 2,323 [chances](/source/total_chances)).

==Coach and manager==
Immediately following his playing career, Williams [coached](/source/coach_(baseball)) for the Giants in {{mlby|1956}} and {{mlby|1957}}, their final two seasons in New York before their move to [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco). He briefly managed the [Dallas Rangers](/source/Dallas_Rangers) of the [Double-A](/source/Double-A_(baseball)) [Texas League](/source/Texas_League) in 1958 before leaving baseball.

==Personal life==
Following the Giants' trade of [Eddie Stanky](/source/Eddie_Stanky), Williams became roommates with [Alvin Dark](/source/Alvin_Dark). Dark remembered that Williams used to go out drinking after games and not return to hotels until late. However, in 1953, Williams checked himself into the [Mayo Clinic](/source/Mayo_Clinic). He called Dark and said that he was giving up drinking because it was complicating a nerve problem he had been diagnosed with.<ref>Dark and Underwood, pp. 68-69</ref>

Williams died in Dallas at the age of 81.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*{{cite book|last1=Dark|first1=Alvin|last2=Underwood|first2=John|title=When in Doubt, Fire the Manager: My Life and Times in Baseball|publisher=E. P. Dutton|location=New York|year=1980|isbn=0-525-23264-8}}

==External links==
*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/willida03.shtml Baseball Reference]
*[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/W/Pwilld102.htm Retrosheet]
 {{1954 New York Giants}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Davey}}
Category:1927 births
Category:2009 deaths
Category:Atlanta Crackers players
Category:Baseball players from Dallas
Category:Dallas Rangers players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:Major League Baseball second basemen
Category:Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players
Category:National League All-Stars
Category:New York Giants (NL) coaches
Category:New York Giants (baseball) players
Category:Pensacola Fliers players
Category:Waycross Bears players

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Davey Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Williams) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Williams?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.