Jimy Williams, the Boston manager who won 910 games over twelve seasons, including stops with Toronto and
Houston, was the 1999 American League Manager of the Year. He passed away. He was eighty.
Following a brief illness, Williams passed away on Friday at AdventHealth North Pinellas Hospital in Tarpon
Springs, Florida, according to the Red Sox. Williams resided in Palm Harbor, which is nearby.
Williams guided the Red Sox to their second consecutive postseason appearance, earning him the AL Manager of the
Year award. He claimed that staying composed at a clubhouse was simpler than at home.
“I have four children and a wife. Do you desire chaos? Williams stated in 1996, upon being appointed Boston’s
manager. “You must communicate. It is not acceptable to take sides and declare, “Let’s see who wins this battle.”
James Francis Williams, an infielder, was born on October 4, 1943, in Santa Maria, California. He first spelled his
name Jimy as a joke in high school, and he graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 1961. Williams attended
Fresno State, where he graduated in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness. That year, he played summer ball
with Graig Nettles and Tom Seaver’s Alaska Goldpanners. Williams played at Class A Iowa, signed with Boston, and
was chosen by St. Louis in the 1965 Rule 5 draft.
On April 26, 1966, Williams made his major league debut, striking out in his first at-bat against Sandy Koufax of the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Like future Hall of Famer Koufax, he got his first hit on May 7 with an RBI single against San
Francisco’s Juan Marichal.
He told the Houston Chronicle, “I can remember my first big league hit, but when you only get three you can
remember them all.” Williams was 3 for 13 (.231) with one RBI in 14 major league games. After being acquired by
Cincinnati, he played for Triple-A Indianapolis in 1968 before being selected by Montreal in the expansion draft to
play for Triple-A Vancouver in 1969.
Following a shoulder injury that ended his playing career, Williams managed the California Angels at Class A Quad
Cities in the Midwest League in 1974. Six seasons later, he was hired by Toronto to serve as third base coach under
Bobby Mattick.
In 1982, Bobby Cox became the Blue Jays’ manager. Williams succeeded Cox in the dugout after Cox resigned in
1986 to take a job as general manager in Atlanta.
After finishing 86-76 in his debut season and leading the AL East by three and a half games with seven games
remaining in 1987, Toronto fell 0-7 and two games behind Detroit in 1987. Following a 12-24 start in 1989, Williams
was replaced by Cito Gaston as the Blue Jays finished 87-75 in 1988. Williams and George Bell, the star who refused
to be a designated hitter, had a number of run-ins.
From 1991 until 1996, Williams was back with the Braves as Cox’s third base coach. It is remembered because at that
time, he gave Sid Bream the go-ahead for Francisco Cabrera’s pennant-winning single, which defeated Barry Bonds’
throw from left field and won Game 7 of the 1992 NL Championship Series against Pittsburgh.
Following the 1996 season, Williams succeeded Kevin Kennedy as manager of Boston. After winning 78 games in his
debut season, the Red Sox went on to have two seasons with 90 wins apiece. They defeated Cleveland in a 1999
Division Series after coming back from a 0–2 deficit.
After winning Manager of the Year, he remarked, “I
probably see life a lot differently than when I was with
Toronto. Maybe not as excitable, from a standpoint of
having to say something all the time.”With the squad at
65-53 in August 2001, Williams was fired from Boston
after the team won 85 games in 2000. The Astros hired
Williams that fall, and he was sacked by the team in 2004
after they were 44-44 following two successful seasons. A
day after he was jeered by Minute Maid Park spectators
upon his introduction as a coach for the All-Star Game, he was fired.
Williams had a 910-790 managerial record.
He worked as a traveling instructor for Tampa Bay in 2005 and 2006 before joining Philadelphia as Charlie Manuel’s
bench coach in 2007 and 2008, where he won a World Series ring in his second season. Both Brady and Shawn, who
are sons of minor league players, have had minor league managerial positions. Brady currently coaches third base for
Tampa Bay. Williams is survived by his 47-year wife Peggy, daughters Monica Farr and Jenna Williams, and eight
grandchildren in addition to his sons. At Texas A&M, Monica was an All-America swimmer who took home two gold
medals from the World University Games.
