Texas baseball legend Joe Williams gets posthumous TSHOF honor – Waco Tribune-Herald

Appreciators of baseball history have a fairly common list of greatest players from the Negro leagues.

Satchel Paige is usually at the top. Then Josh Gibson. Buck Leonard. James “Cool Papa” Bell.

Then there’s Joe Williams. A regular on various lists Negro league bests, but not often considered the best.

Perhaps it was his earlier start, with professional pitching records dating back to 1911, 16 years before Paige’s pro debut. Or the fact that he never played a game in Major League Baseball, a feat Paige accomplished later in his career.

Regardless, Williams’ abilities were undeniable. At the time, managers often referred to him as the best pitcher in baseball, major leagues or not.

His efforts have posthumously earned him an induction into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 2016 class.

“He was good — he was better than good,” Said Mark Gretchen, a resident of Williams’ native Seguin and a researcher of Williams’ career. “I do believe he was one of the best — one of the top players. He could pitch, he could bat, he could field. He played year-round many, many years. He was one of the good guys. He was consummate team player. If they were playing a doubleheader, he pitches the first game and the pitcher is struggling in the second game, he’s willing to go in.”

Nicknamed “Smokey” and “Cyclone” at different stages in his career, Williams compiled a professional record of 84-52 with a 3.79 ERA, 726 strikeouts and 104 complete games, according to statistics listed by the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he was enshrined in 1999.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Texan was at his best as a member of the New York Lincoln Giants from 1912-23, where losses didn’t come often and strikeouts were aplenty. He’s documented as whiffing 27 hitters in a single game against the Kansas City Monarchs in 1930, and reaching the 20-strikeout mark on other occasions wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, considered one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game, proclaimed that Williams was “a sure 30-game winner” in the major leagues.

Baseball statistician Bill James, known as the founder of sabermetrics, ranked Williams No. 52 in his list of greatest players of all time, sandwiched between fellow greats Sandy Koufax and Roy Campanella. He’s the 12th-best pitcher included on the list.

“I think in terms of giving people their due, we’re probably still lacking when it comes to Joe, and I’m so thrilled that the Texas Sports Hall of Fame is recognizing him, because he really progressed the game of baseball, tremendously,” Gretchen said.

Growing up in Seguin, Williams was exposed to baseball during his upbringing. His grandfather, Calvin Williams, was a Buffalo Soldier based out of Fort McKavett, where the game was a pastime among stationed military.

“Maybe there is a connection between that and Joe learning to play ball,” Gretchen said. “Just looking up to his grandfather and using him as an idol or mentor that encouraged him to not just pursue baseball but to see a wider world outside of Seguin, because his grandfather was not just a Buffalo Soldier but also a veteran of the Civil War and had quite a bit of experience traveling the country in both of those roles.”

Williams’ pitching records date back to 1905, when he was a standout pitcher for teams in San Antonio and the surrounding area. He compiled a 95-29 record over four seasons, attracting the attention of larger teams. After stints in Cuba and Chicago in 1910 and 1911, he joined the New York Lincoln Giants in 1912, helping them become one of the most prominent Negro league teams in history.

He played well into his 40s as a member of the Homestead Grays from 1928-34. He went 12-7 in 1929, a year in which the Grays produced one of the greatest black teams of all time. A year later, he outpitched a young Satchel Paige in a 1-0 victory. He served as the mentor to an 18-year-old Josh Gibson the same season.

Williams died in 1951 in New York City at the age of 64. He has no documented direct descendants, so the city of Seguin itself has represented him during posthumous recognitions, including his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

A baseball field in Seguin is named after Williams, and a scholarship is awarded by the city in his name.

While there are limited documents of Williams’ personality and demeanor off the field, Gretchen says the information remaining describes him as a selfless individual who played baseball to win games and not individual awards.

“When I think of Joe Williams, I think of Tim Duncan, because they seem so similar,” Gretchen said, laughing. “I don’t think Joe would care one bit whether he was recognized or not. He just enjoyed the game and loved to play it, loved to complete and was excellent at what he did.

—–

Hall of Fame series

This is the second in a series of profiles on the 2016 inductees to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. The rest of the class includes former NFL lineman Ken Gray, former Yankees and Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte, former Dallas Cowboys all-pro lineman Larry Allen, retired Texas Longhorns football coach Fred Akers, rodeo world champion Trevor Brazile, former Texas basketball All-American T.J. Ford, former Texas A&M and Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Jacob Green. The induction banquet is Feb. 2 at the Ferrell Center.