“If I was paid $32,000 a year, the very least I could do was hit .400.” – Ted Williams
Summer – Lemonade stands, beach, and baseball. What many of you don’t know about Stargazer is that I love to watch old baseball documentaries, and the movie Field of Dreams, at least once during the summer. I was channel surfing on Sunday night and I caught the end of a documentary about Gil Hodges and the 1969 Mets, which was followed by one on Ted Williams, the legendary Boston Red Sox’ left fielder.
Ted Williams, “The Kid”
Ted Williams, also known as “The Kid” and “Splendid Splinter,” played for the Boston Red Sox for 21 years. He was known to his fans and to fellow players, old and new, as the greatest hitter of all time. The Kid had his extraordinary career interrupted by stints in two wars, World War II and the Korean War, as a fighter pilot for the Marines. Despite these lost years, he still managed to lead the American League in batting six times, was the American League MVP twice, was a two time winner of the Triple Crown, had a career batting average of .344, and had 521 home runs. Williams was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966; his career stats have made him a legend in baseball history.
Williams was a philanthropist and a spitfire rolled into one. He always had time for children stricken with cancer, yet allotted little family time to his children while they were young. He had a love/hate relationship with the press and fans, and was really bothered when the crowd booed players who made a bad play. Despite all this, he insisted on quietly giving some of his free time to visiting Children’s Hospital and fundraising for the cancer research organization called the Jimmy Fund.
Williams had a Keen Eye
One of the most amazing stories I uncovered about Ted Williams was that he had such keen eyesight that he could read a record album label while it was spinning. If you do believe this story, Williams’ last visit to Fenway Park becomes more poignant.
During that emotional July 13, 1999 All-Star Game, the feeble Williams came onto the field in a cart to the cheers of fans and players, such as Joe Torre, Ken Griffey, Jr., Cal Ripken, Jr., and long-time friend Tony Gwynn. He slowly walked to the pitcher’s mound to throw the opening pitch, worried because he couldn’t see home plate. With Tony Gwynn coaching him, he was able to throw a pitch down the plate amidst a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd. If you get to watch some of the old footage of this game, you can spot the looks of admiration given to Williams from the young players. It was a day to remember for Williams, the players on the field, and the massive crowd at Fenway.
Ted Williams Legal Issues
Described as controversial, opinionated, and stubborn, Ted Williams was still quite the lady’s man. He married three times and had three children. He lived with his long-time love, Louise Kaufman, until her death in 1993. When Louise died, her children sued Williams for a half interest in a condominium Williams gave Louise, as well as the furniture in the condo.
Family Feud – Ted Williams Contested Will
Williams’ death in July 2002 led to much controversy regarding his last wishes for his remains, and his estate. Unfortunately, this controversy tarnished his memory and made a mockery of his last wishes.
Cremation or cryopreservation?
Williams had a will which said he was to be cremated with his ashes scattered over the Florida gulf where he enjoyed sports fishing. However, a later codicil recorded on a napkin and signed by Williams, his son John-Henry, and daughter Claudia, was produced after he died. It said that Williams wanted his remains to be sent to a facility in Arizona called Alcor Life Extension for cryopreservation. Cryopreservation is a method of freezing human remains with the hope to be resuscitated in the future when a cure for the cause of death has been found. The hope was that in future years the three – John-Henry, Claudia, and Williams, would be reunited. William’s oldest daughter, Bobby-Jo, fervently contested this notion saying the note was forged and that Williams wanted to be cremated.
However, the codicil was enforced and Williams’ body was sent to Alcor. A CBS report in 2003 said that Williams was decapitated during the cryogenic process called neuroseparation, and his head and body were suspended separately in liquid nitrogen. A former employee of Alcor said the facility was missing some of Williams’ DNA. A theory at the time was that John-Henry wanted to sell his father’s DNA.
John-Henry died unexpectedly of leukemia three years after Williams’ death and was sent to the same facility for cryopreservation.
