The Pecan Park Eagle

Walt “No Neck” Williams

Walt “No Neck” Williams, the stubby looking little outfielder from Brownwood, Texas who signed as a 20-year old free agent with the Houston Colt .45s in 1963 has died. According to his wife, Ester, Williams passed away of a heart attack on Saturday, January 23, 2016, at age 72 in Abilene.

Williams broke into the majors on April 21, 1964 with the Colt .45s as a late inning defensive replacement for Jim Beauchamp in a 10-5 home loss at Colt Stadium to the Cincinnati Reds. He had no plate appearances that day and he would have to wait another three years for his first MLB hit after going 0 for 9 in 10 games for the ’64 Houston club. That first hit would come for the Chicago White Sox (1967-72). After 6 seasons with the Pale Hose, 1 year with the Cleveland Indians (1973), and 2 final seasons with the New York Yankees (1974-75).

Walt Williams finished his MLB career with a BA of .270 and 33 HR. His best season was 1969, when he hit .304 in 135 games for the White Sox. He never hit for power or had enough speed to steal many bases, but he was a steady player and good enough to last ten seasons in the big leagues – and that’s far better than most aspiring baseball players ever achieve.

In an article by Bobbie Dittmeier of MLB.com explains how Williams got his “No Neck” nickname: “The nickname ‘No Neck’ was hung on the muscular 5-foot-6 Walt Williams because of his physical appearance. A typhus injection he received in his neck when he was very young, following a flood in Brownwood, caused his neck to shrink.”

Hard to fathom? Here’s a link to the source article, which also contains a short summary of Williams’ after life in baseball following his release from the Yankees as a player in January 1976:

http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/162981092/walt-no-neck-williams-dies

Rest in Peace, Walt Williams! Your passing at age 72 is another sad reminder of how time flies, but your early fans in Houston still remember you. It’s kind of hard to forget a guy who both owns and looks like he deserves the nickname of “No Neck.” Also, if you get a chance to play again in whatever realm of afterlife existence you now find yourself, get a hit for Houston. You owe us one.

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Tags: RIP, Walt "No Neck" WIlliams

This entry was posted on January 29, 2016 at 5:34 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.