RIP Dick Williams

[Dojji]

The Impossible Dream team's manager has passed on, per 98.5

 

Heck of a manager. He will be missed.

[SoxSport]

Dick Williams: Hall of Fame manager. The best Red Sox manager I've seen in my lifetime. Tough ex-Marine.

Fundamentals guy. The other good one was Ralph Houk. And then there was Carregan (sp?) in the WWI era.

 

Tito is easily the best survivor. Organization man who plays the media like a fiddle.

Tito would have finished last with that '67 team. He needs lots of talent around him to win.

[boston22407]

RIP

[a700hitter]

If you look at the roster of the 67 Impossible Dream team, you will be struck by how young they were. Yaz was the veteran presence on the team and he turned 28 that August. Dick Williams was on 36 as I recall. Williams was a tough manager. He was not beyond humiliating players at any time including during the game. He used to say that the Sox before him had too many Guardians and no chief. I may have mangled that quote. He made no mistake about him being the chief. While he did a masterful job winning with such a young group, we should not overlook that it was a supremely talented group. Yaz was emerging to be the best player in the game. Tony C was arguably the best young slugger. Petrocelli was a future All Star at SS as was Boomer Scott at first base. Reggie Smith was a supremely talented switch hitting rookie who had an exceptional career. When Tony C got hurt they went to pickup Hawk Harrelson as a FA. Hawk was also an All Star for the Sox. Joe Foy was a big talent with a lot of tools, but his career and life got sidelined with drugs. Gentleman Jim Lonborg had emerged as a top pitcher winning the CY Young award, but his Sox career essentially ended on a ski slope that winter. Dick O'Connell brought in even more talent over the next couple of years, but with the loss of Lonborg and Tony C the Sox couldn't keep pace with stronger Tiger and Oriole teams, but they were winning clubs. That was a big change from the pre-67 futility. Williams wore out his welcome and got himself fired, but the Sox continued to be a competitive winning franchise until the Hobson years. The transformation of the Sox into a great franchise was the work of Dick O'Connell who brought in tons of talent. 1967 was the beginning, and Dick Williams played a big role. Thank you Dick. Rest in Peace.

[a700hitter]

If you look at the roster of the 67 Impossible Dream team, you will be struck by how young they were. Yaz was the veteran presence on the team and he turned 28 that August. Dick Williams was on 36 as I recall. Williams was a tough manager. He was not beyond humiliating players at any time including during the game. He used to say that the Sox before him had too many Guardians and no chief. I may have mangled that quote. He made no mistake about him being the chief. While he did a masterful job winning with such a young group, we should not overlook that it was a supremely talented group. Yaz was emerging to be the best player in the game. Tony C was arguably the best young slugger. Petrocelli was a future All Star at SS as was Boomer Scott at first base. Reggie Smith was a supremely talented switch hitting rookie who had an exceptional career. When Tony C got hurt they went to pickup Hawk Harrelson as a FA. Hawk was also an All Star for the Sox. Joe Foy was a big talent with a lot of tools, but his career and life got sidelined with drugs. Gentleman Jim Lonborg had emerged as a top pitcher winning the CY Young award, but his Sox career essentially ended on a ski slope that winter. Dick O'Connell brought in even more talent over the next couple of years, but with the loss of Lonborg and Tony C the Sox couldn't keep pace with stronger Tiger and Oriole teams, but they were winning clubs. That was a big change from the pre-67 futility. Williams wore out his welcome and got himself fired, but the Sox continued to be a competitive winning franchise until the Hobson years. The transformation of the Sox into a great franchise was the work of Dick O'Connell who brought in tons of talent. 1967 was the beginning, and Dick Williams played a big role. Thank you Dick. Rest in Peace.

[Spitball]

Thanks for the recap, 700. Everyone who was living in Massachusetts (or anywhere in New England) in 1967 was touched by the magic of that season. It was an incredible year. It wasn't just about baseball...it was about our culture. You would go to school, the grocery store, the doctor, anywhere and everyone was discussing the latest Red Sox game.

 

The Sox were always popular in New England, but the late 1950s and most of the 1960s featured some pretty poor teams. The 1966 team finished a half game out of last place (Yankees were last). Dick Williams came in in 1967 and turn it around.

 

Believe it or not, I enjoyed 1967 more than 2004.

 

Btw, Lonborg had a long road back from his ski injury but would pitch 12 more seasons and win 116 more games. He was never the Cy Young quality pitcher of 1967 again but would have some pretty good seasons for the Phillies in the 1970s.

[SoxSport]

Dick O'Connell was a great GM. Maybe better than Epstein. What killed the Red Sox was free agency--in the late 70s. While Steinbrenner was sucking up every free agent in sight, Haywood Sullivan was letting them go on technicalities (Fisk, Lynn). Sullivan was anti-free agency, and set the Red Sox back for years. They were having ownership struggles at that point--Yawkey had died--and with him went signing big ticket players.

[Flynnatic10]

RIP

[a700hitter]

Dick O'Connell was a great GM. Maybe better than Epstein. What killed the Red Sox was free agency--in the late 70s. While Steinbrenner was sucking up every free agent in sight' date=' Haywood Sullivan was letting them go on technicalities (Fisk, Lynn). Sullivan was anti-free agency, and set the Red Sox back for years. They were having ownership struggles at that point--Yawkey had died--and with him went signing big ticket players.[/quote']That tightwad Sullivan and Buddy Leroux trashed the powerhouse team that O'Connell had built. I mentioned all the talent on the' 67 team. He followed that up in the late 60's early and mid 70's signing Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Cecil Cooper, Carlton Fisk, Rick Burleson, Cecil Cooper, Ben Ogilvie and Rick Miller. I am sure that I missed some.