James Alfred Williams (born April 29, 1947) is a former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who played for the San Diego Padres during the franchise's first two seasons. He batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Williams attended

Harry Ells High School Harry Ells High School in Richmond, California was a major public high school serving the community from 1955 to 1985 with a gap of 3 years (1967–70) when it served as the temporary South campus of Richmond High School. It was named for Harry ...

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

. He was drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in the 20th round of the amateur draft. His career with Chicago peaked at the Class A level. Following the season he was traded along with

Paul Popovich Paul Edward Popovich (born August 18, 1940) is a former American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1964 through 1975 for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Early years Popovich a ...

to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

for Lou Johnson, where he played at the Class A and Class AA levels. He was then drafted by the Padres during the 1968 expansion draft. The Padres assigned him to the Class AA

Elmira Pioneers The Elmira Pioneers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They have been affiliated with many major league teams throughout their history. The current Elmira Pioneers play as members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseb ...

for the season and called him up to the major league team that September, where he appeared in 13 games. He was sent back to the minor leagues the following season, and spent most of the season playing for the Class AAA Salt Lake Bees before being called back up to San Diego in September, appearing in another 11 games. Williams then spent part of playing for the Class A

Lodi Padres The Lodi Padres were a minor league baseball team based in Lodi, California that played in the California League from 1970 to 1971. They were affiliated with the San Diego Padres and played at Lawrence Park. In 1970, under managers Sonny Ruberto a ...

and the rest of 1971 and all of in the Mexican League. He returned to the Padres minor-league system in , playing for the Double-A

Alexandria Aces The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for the ...

before retiring at age 26.

External links

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1947 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Dodgers players Alexandria Aces players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona Instructional League Cubs players Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Arizona Instructional League Pilots players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players from Louisiana Diablos Rojos del México players Elmira Pioneers players Leones de Yucatán players Lodi Padres players Major League Baseball outfielders People from Zachary, Louisiana Sportspeople from East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Quincy Cubs players Salt Lake City Bees players San Diego Padres players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Treasure Valley Cubs players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Baseball players from Richmond, California Harry Ells High School alumni {{US-baseball-outfielder-1940s-stub