Smokey joe williams biography
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Joseph Williams (April 6, 1886 – February 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cyclone Joe" or "Smokey Joe", was an American right-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues. He is widely recognized as one of the game's greatest pitchers, even though he never played a game in the major leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Williams was born in Seguin, Texas; one of his parents was African American and the other was a Comanche Indian. He grew up to become an outstanding baseball pitcher, but as his path to the major leagues was barred by the color line; Williams spent his entire 27-year career (1905–32) pitching in the Negro Leagues, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
He entered professional baseball in 1905 with the San Antonio Black Bronchos, and was an immediate star, posting records of 28-4, 15-9, 20-8, 20-2 and 32-8. After that, the Chicago Leland Giants, a team higher in the pecking order of black baseball, acquired him. In 1910, the Giants owner Frank Leland pronounced him the best pitcher in baseball, in any league.
In 1911, Williams joined the Lincoln Giants of New York, helping that club become one of the premier African-American teams of the era. When manager John Henry Lloyd departed in 1914, Williams took over as playing manager, a post he held through the
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Joe Williams
“If you have ever witnessed the speed of a pebble in a storm, you have not even then seen the equal of the speed possessed by this wonderful Texan giant,” wrote longtime Negro Leagues owner Frank Leland of Joe Williams. “He is the King of all pitchers hailing from the Lone Star State and you have but to see him once to exclaim, ‘That’s a Plenty!’”
Williams was one of them most feared Negro Leagues pitchers in the first half of the 20th century, a tall Texan known for his fastball, smooth motion and great control. One of African-American baseball’s great drawing cards, the talented right-hander with the broad shoulders would shine for more than two decades for a number of teams, including the New York Lincoln Giants and Homestead Grays.
“Someone gave me a baseball at an early age and it was my companion for a long time. I carried it in my pocket and slept with it under my pillow,” Williams said. “I always wanted to pitch.”
Once called “the mighty man of baseball,” Williams excelled in a segregated game. But when given the opportunity, he faced and was often victorious over the years against such big league stalwarts as Walter Johnson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Chief Bender, Rube Marquard, Waite Hoyt, Jeff Tesreau, Eddie Rommel, Jesse Barnes and Rube Walberg.
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"Smokey Joe" Williams
Joseph Williams
Nickname: Joe, Smokey Joe, Active, Yank
Career: 1905-1932
Positions: p, of, 1b, manager
Teams: San Antonio Black Bronchos (1907-1909), Port Giants (1910), New Dynasty Lincoln Giants (1911-1923), Iroquois Giants (1913), Chicago Denizen Giants (1914), Atlantic Right Bacharach Giants (1916), Hilldale Daisies (1917), Brooklyn Kingly Giants (1924), Homestead Grays (1925-1932), City Wolves (1932)
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6' 4'' Weight: 190
Born: Apr 6, 1885, Seguin, Texas
Died: Stride 12, 1946, New Royalty, New York
National Ball Hall give evidence Fame Draftee (1999)
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