Claude Preston "Lefty" Williams (March 9, 1893 – November 4, 1959) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He is probably best known for his involvement in the

1919 World Series The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. ...

fix, known as the

Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate led ...

Career

Williams was born in

Aurora, Missouri Aurora is a city in Lawrence County, Missouri, Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,432. History The Honey Creek area, near Aurora was originally settled by p ...

, to William and Mary Williams."Lefty Williams"
''sabr.org''. He began his major league career on September 17, 1913, 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 ...

. Williams' breakthrough season came in 1915, while with the

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. That year, he pitched 418.2 innings, leading the league in wins (33) and

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s (294), while featuring mostly his mid-90s

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

and swooping curve. His contract was then purchased by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. With the White Sox, Williams settled into the starting rotation and helped the team win the pennant in 1917, going 17–8. After spending 1918 working in

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

shipyards, he came back strong in 1919 with his greatest performance, going 23–11 with a 2.64

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. The White Sox again won the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant. However, before that year's

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, he got caught up in the Black Sox Scandal when teammate Chick Gandil offered him $10,000 to

lose Lose may refer to: * ''Lose'' (Cymbals Eat Guitars album), the third studio album by American indie rock band Cymbals Eat Guitars * "Lose" (song), by KSI and Lil Wayne, 2021 *"Lose", a song by Travis Scott from his 2016 album ''Birds in the Trap ...

his starts. Williams only received $5,000, half of what he was promised, a sum that was still almost double his 1919 salary of $2,600. In the series, Williams went 0–3, with an earned run average of 6.63. His three losses were a World Series record. That was equaled in the 1981 Series when

George Frazier George Francis Frazier Jr. (June 10, 1911 – June 13, 1974) was an American journalist. Frazier was raised in South Boston, attended the Boston Latin School, and was graduated from Harvard College (where he won the Boylston Prize for Rhetoric) in ...

lost three games. ''

Eight Men Out ''Eight Men Out'' is a 1988 American sports drama film based on Eliot Asinof's 1963 book ''Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series''. It was written and directed by John Sayles. The film is a dramatization of Major League Baseball's ...

'' author

Eliot Asinof Eliot Tager Asinof (July 13, 1919 – June 10, 2008) was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction best known for his writing about baseball. His most famous book was ''Eight Men Out'', a nonfiction reconstruction of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. ...

wrote that Williams eventually turned against the fix as he prepared for his final Series start; Asinof later admitted that this particular anecdote was made up. In 1920, Williams went 22–14, but was caught up in the indictments handed down that autumn. Though acquitted by a jury, Williams and the seven other "Black Sox" were banned from organized baseball by

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his h ...

. Afterwards, Williams barnstormed and played in outlaw leagues for a few years,"Spencer Loses to Sherburn," ''Spencer Reporter'', Spencer, IA, Wednesday, August 22, 1923, Page 1, Columns 3 and 4
/ref> and he played briefly for the Fort Bayard Veterans team in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

which was part of the Copper League or Cactus League. He supposedly took to drinking heavily. It was reported that the between-inning "nips" made him an intimidating pitcher to the batters. Williams spent his later years in

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservat ...

, operating a garden nursery business. Williams was portrayed by actor

James Read James Christopher Read (born July 31, 1953) is an American actor. He played the role of George Hazard in the ''North and South'' television miniseries, and had a recurring role as Victor Bennett on the supernatural series ''Charmed'' between 2 ...

in the 1988 film ''

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Lefty 1893 births 1959 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players Chicago White Sox players Morristown Jobbers players Nashville Vols players Sacramento Wolves players Mission Wolves players Salt Lake City Bees players Sportspeople banned for life Baseball players from Missouri People from Aurora, Missouri

Career

See also

References

External links