{{Short description|American baseball player (1916–2000)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Dewey Williams |position=Catcher |image=Dewey Williams 1950.jpg |width=170px |caption=Williams with the Seattle Rainiers, circa 1950 |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1916|2|5}} |birth_place=Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|2000|3|19|1916|2|5}} |death_place=Williston, North Dakota, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=June 28 |debutyear=1944 |debutteam=Chicago Cubs |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 26 |finalyear=1948 |finalteam=Cincinnati Reds |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.233 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=3 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=37 |teams= *Chicago Cubs (1944–1947) *Cincinnati Reds (1948) }} '''Dewey Edgar Williams''' (February 5, 1916 – March 19, 2000) nicknamed "Dee", was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, he appeared in 193 games played in the Major Leagues between {{baseball year|1944}} and {{baseball year|1948}}, and was a member of the 1945 Chicago Cubs, until {{by|2016}} the most recent Cub team to win a National League pennant.
Williams was a native of Durham, North Carolina. He threw and batted right-handed, stood {{convert|6|ft}} tall and weighed {{convert|160|lb}}, a slender frame for a catcher. ==Career== His professional career lasted for 18 seasons, however (1937–54). In June 1944, he was acquired by the Cubs after he batted .313 in 48 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the top-level International League.<ref>Baseball Reference [https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=willia002dew minor league page]</ref> During his rookie 1944 campaign, Williams appeared in an MLB-career-high 79 games (77 as a catcher), and batted .240 with 27 runs batted in.
In {{baseball year|1945}}, the following season, Williams was the Cubbies' third-string catcher (behind Mickey Livingston and Paul Gillespie); nevertheless, he appeared in 59 games and slugged two of his three career MLB home runs that season. He remained on the Cub roster for the 1945 World Series and played in two games. As a pinch hitter in Game 5, Williams struck out against Detroit Tigers' ace left-hander Hal Newhouser.<ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1945/B10070CHN1945.htm 1945 World Series Game 5 box score from Retrosheet]</ref> He was a defensive replacement in Game 6, catching the last three innings, grounding out in his only at bat (against Dizzy Trout), and handling two chances without an error.<ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1945/B10080CHN1945.htm 1945 World Series Game 6 box score from Retrosheet]</ref> The Cubs split the two games in which Williams played, but the Tigers prevailed in seven games to win the 1945 world championship.
He later spent time in the minor leagues, catching for the Seattle Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|br=w/willide02 |brm=willia002dew}}, or [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/W/Pwilld109.htm Retrosheet], or [https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b5728a34 SABR Biography Project]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Dewey}} Category:1916 births Category:2000 deaths Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:Atlanta Crackers players Category:Baseball players from Durham, North Carolina Category:Brandon Greys players Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Durham Bulls players Category:Elmira Pioneers players Category:Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Category:Macon Peaches players Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Memphis Chickasaws players Category:Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Category:Minot Mallards players Category:Patriotas de Venezuela players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:Seattle Rainiers players Category:Toledo Sox players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Category:Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Category:Williamsport Grays players Category:Williston Oilers players Category:20th-century American sportsmen