Ted Williams
My brother, Luke, recently shared a story about Ted Williams he heard on WLW, the flagship radio station for the Cincinnati Reds. WLW has broadcasted the Reds since their first game on radio in 1924. I wasn’t around for that game but can vividly recall listening to the Reds games on 50,000 watt WLW as a kid especially the 1961 World Series and while in college during the Big Red Machine era, using one of the first transistor radios.
Luke felt the Ted Williams story might make an interesting blog, so here goes!
Because the Reds were in the National League, we unfortunately seldom had an opportunity to see or listen to the Red Sox star since inter-league play didn’t start until decades later. Williams had three stints in the Major Leagues, split first by WWII then by the Korean War. Each time he came back strong as ever, never losing his hitting touch. In my view, he was the greatest hitter of all time. His 1941 season batting over .400 epitomized an illustrious 19 year career.
Williams was a nineteen-time All-Star, a two-time recipient of the American League Most Valuable Player Award, a six-time AL batting champion, and a two-time Triple Crown winner. He finished his playing career with a .344 batting average, 521 home runs, and a 1.116 on-base plus slugging percentage. And of course is a Hall of Famer.
Ted played his sandlot baseball in San Diego signing with the Pacific Coast League’s San Diego Padres in 1936, because his mother wanted him to play close to home. In 1939, he was invited to spring training by the Boston Red Sox, but was 10 days late due to flooding out west delaying the trains until the water subsided. Ted had arranged a $200 bank loan to pay for the trip and a little spending money. His bat was his collateral! An autographed rookie card would also have more than sufficed!
William’s 5 year military career spanning two wars was spent entirely as a pilot for the Marine Corps was almost as stellar as his baseball career. During WWII, he was an instructor pilot who had the best reflexes on record based upon his performance during flight drills. He was stationed in Hawaii and was about to be deployed into the Pacific Theater when the war ended. During his second military stint in the Korean War, he did deploy to Korea and flew 39 successful combat missions. He was the wing man for future astronaut John Glenn, who claimed Williams was the best pilot he knew, while his wife Annie described him as the most profane man she ever met!
Had Williams not lost 5 years of playing time to military service in the prime of his career, he could possibly have broken Babe Ruth’s record of 715 homers, finishing instead with 521. He also could have also lead Boston to more than one World Series, a losing cause in 1946 when he was injured, breaking the Curse of the Bambino decades earlier.
In his retirement after his playing days, Williams kept active in baseball, first as a Red Sox hitting instructor during spring training. Fellow Hall of Famer, Karl Yastrzemski, credits Williams for his three batting championships and 1967 triple crown. Later Williams became the manager of the Washington Senators and was named Manager of the Year in 1969. He was also an expert fisherman and hunter, skills that lead him to become the spokesperson for Sears sporting goods.
Back to WLW for a moment; their 50,000 watt signal was transmitted by an 800’ antenna near Cincinnati pictured here. A local contractor had never built a tower that tall, but had a pyramid design for 400’. So he simply mounted one on top of an inverted version of the other, anchoring the gigantic top heavy tower with guy wires. WLW was designated as one of the 14 clear channel stations across the country, and didn’t have to reduce its power at night like other stations. As a result, WLW and the Reds could be heard in 40 states.
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