Frank Lee Williams (February 13, 1958 – January 9, 2009) was a major league baseball player from 1984 through 1989. Williams and his twin brother, of Tseshaht First Nation heritage, were placed for adoption at birth, and after some years in foster homes were raised in suburban

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state. The city's downto ...

by Boeing engineer Dick McCullough. Williams attended

Shoreline Community College Shoreline Community College is a public community college in Shoreline, Washington. It is located in a residential area east of Shoreview Park. The college contains over 80 acres and continuously serves 12,000 full- and part-time students. It o ...

in Seattle, then Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, where he attracted the attention of scouts (and engaged in amateur tough man boxing in the offseason). Williams was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 11th round of the 1979 amateur draft, and, after pitching for

Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, Fresno, Shreveport, and Phoenix, made his major league debut in 1984. A middle reliever, he pitched a shutout in his rookie season but started no other games and was credited with only eight saves over his six-season, 333-game career. His best season was 1986, when he had a 1.20 earned run average, and, with 34 singles and one double given up in 52.1 innings, a defensive isolated power percentage (slugging percentage allowed minus batting average allowed, a measure of extra bases allowed on hits) of .006 – as of 2014, the lowest such percentage of anyone pitching 50 or more innings in records going back to 1957. He was traded in the offseason to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and finished with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in 1989. He created the “slurve”, a slow side arm curve ball. Frank was known for his side arm and fast pitch. After baseball, Williams suffered various misfortunes including a serious car accident, the breakup of his marriage, and the death of his twin brother. He struggled with alcoholism, and eventually became homeless. He died in Victoria, British Columbia, in January 2009 after suffering a heart attack and complications from pneumonia. He is remembered by a son, Tyler Lee Williams, and a daughter, Lyndsay Kae Williams, both of Kendrick, Idaho.

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Frank 1958 births 2009 deaths Baseball players from Seattle Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Fresno Giants players Great Falls Giants players Lewis–Clark State Warriors baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Phoenix Firebirds players Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Shreveport Captains players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela