Ted+Williams

Ted Williams, the former Boston Red Sox ball player, who was the last player to have hit over .400 in the Major Baseball League, used to spend his summers on the Miramichi River, fishing for his favorite fish - the Atlantic Salmon. I was privileged to have been assigned the "task" by New Brunswick's provincial newspaper, The Telegraph-Journal, to interview Mr. Williams at a local oldtimers' baseball banquet. Mr. Williams did not like to do interviews with the press. However, when he learned that I wanted to talk about fishing, and not baseball, read on to see what happened! It is interesting to note that Mr. Williams was a very perceptive man. He foresaw what might happen to our river if we did not take care of it! (Rick Hayward)

The Telegraph-Journal, Saint John, N.B., Monday, August 1, 1977
Chatham Head - Ted Williams says New Brunswick has the greatest fish which ever lived. His greatest joy, he says, is hooking that fish, the Atlantic Salmon, and bringing it to shore. It's a pleasure he has been enjoying on the Miramichi River for the past 17 years and, next to baseball, he rates it as the number one sport. The former Boston Red Sox slugger captivated an audience of Miramichi oldtimers and their wives here Sunday with his tales of the art of swinging a bat and casting a line. Williams, who hit a lifetime average of .344 in the majors, spoke to more than 240 people gathered at the Chatham Head Recreation Centre for the closing banquet of the first Miramichi Valley Baseball League's Oldtimers Tournament. Williams, who owns a fishing camp near Blackville, said New Brunswickers should be proud of their "bountiful natural resources". But he cautioned against settling into complacency. "You have clean rivers and clean air," he said, "and you have a mighty fish. But it is going to take a lot of effort and a lot of guts to fight against pollution." He continued, "It hurt me the other day to drive over the Miramichi River and look down to see beer bottles, a bed spring and other junk at the bottom of the river. That is what you have to guard against." Williams was the last major leaguer to break the .400 batting average barrier, a feat he accomplished in 1941 when he hit .406. He hit a career 521 home runs. "I owe everything to baseball," Williams told the gathering, "that's why I am here tonight. You're a hardy bunch in New Brunswick because you play ball in some trying elements. You must like you game and I admire you for that." "I was lucky to play four decades of ball, spanning the 30's to the 60's, and I think that history will prove that some of the best, if not the best, ball was played during that time. There were good ballplayers then who didn't have to contend with player disputes, strained management-player relations or expansion." Reflecting upon those years, Williams picked Casey Stengel as his favorite baseball personality. "I love Casey because he contributed more to ball than any other man in my time," he related. "Put Casey anywhere and he would always be pumping ball. He was the true spokesman for baseball." "When Casey was coaching the Braves he rolled into Boston for a game against us and, while walking across the street, he was hit by a car." He wound up on the front page of the newspaper in bed with a cast on his leg. One of the sportswriters headlined his article, 'Greatest Break in Baseball History', and for many opposing players that headline was possibly true. Casey loved to needle you if you were either down or good." Williams related that when he retired as an active player he had absolutely no desire to use his baseball experience in a managing capacity. He said he was firm in his decision not to manage and he told the baseball owners that - but one was very persuasive. Thus, Williams ended up managing the Washington Senators. "As an outfielder you only have to think about your own game and your own part of the field. But as a manager, you have to know the statistics of 28 different players," he said. "The best manager I ever had was Joe McCarthy and many times when we'd be losing in Washington I'd phone him for advice." "Washington was not a winning club," he added. "I told Joe, 'when we lose my heart gets heavy. I'm eating a lot and gaining weight.'He replied, 'You're lucky, Ted. Whenever I used to lose I drank a lot.'" Williams told his audience of his first reaction as a player to hearing that McCarthy was going to move from the management level at New York to the same position at Boston. "I said to myself that that was it for me because Joe was known as a keen disciplinarian and I didn't think we would see eye to eye. But Joe combined discipline with fairness and for doing that he won my respect." Williams said he's not sure if the introduction of the designated hitter rule in the American League has been good or bad. But he said he does prefer to see pitchers come up to the plate. He said the best pitcher he ever faced was Bob Feller. "Everyone, from the fans to the ballplayers, got geared up when Feller pitched. He was the best. If he had been mean, he could've killed about 48 players at the plate with his fast ball. But he didn't have to be mean. He had everything he needed in his hands." Williams closed off his talk, to the tune of a standing ovation, with the words, "One of my fondest dreams has been to have a son who will tie his own flies and fish here on the Miramichi for the greatest of all fish - the salmon!"