Ted Williams (1918-2002) was one of the most successful hitters in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. He played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox, from 1939 to 1960, though he did not play from 1940 to 1943 in order to serve in World War II and missed most of the 1952 and 1953 seasons when he was recalled to serve in Korea. Williams led the American League in home runs four times, led the league in on-base percentage 12 times, and has the highest ever career on-base percentage, at .482. He was the American League MVP twice and was an All-Star in every season after his rookie year except those interrupted by military service. Williams retired after the 1960 season, hitting a home run in his final at-bat. He retired with a .344 batting average and 521 home runs. Ted Williams was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966.
This image shows Ted Williams touring the Kingdome, under construction, in January 1976. He was in Seattle to participate in a baseball clinic at Bellevue Community College. Williams said the new stadium was “tremendous,” offered thoughts about the future of MLB expansion teams, and predicted that the Red Sox would do well in the upcoming season.
Caption information source: “Ted Williams, Class of 1966,” National Baseball Hall of Fame, retrieved from https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/williams-ted Caption information source: “’Splinter’ lauds Seattle dome,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, by Anderson, January 24, 1976, page B2.
