Curley Williams

Willie C. Williams

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut 1948
• Final Game 1948
• Born May 25, 1925 in Holly Hill, SC USA
• Died August 23, 2011 in Sarasota, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Curley Williams played for seven years in the Negro Leagues and two in the minors.

Williams broke in with the Newark Eagles in 1945 and spent three seasons as a backup. He was with the team when they won the 1946 Negro World Series. However, for now, his stats only show him with Newark for the final season of the Negro National League, in 1948. He followed the Eagles when they became the Houston Eagles in 1949. In the 1950 East-West Game, he started at shortstop for the West and led off. He went 0 for 1 with a walk and a run in a 5-3 win, before being replaced by Clyde McNeal in the 4th. With the West down 1-0 in the third, Curley drew a Joe Black walk and later came around on a Jesse Douglas hit to tie it.

In the 1951 East-West Game, the Carolina native hit cleanup and manned short for the West. He went 0 for 3 in a 3-1 loss, but drove in their only run. In the 6th inning, he hit a sacrifice fly off Kelly Searcy to score Bill Williams. Williams left the Eagles that year to play in Organized Baseball. He hit .297 and slugged .547 in 20 games for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Williams split 1952 between the Scranton Miners (.268/.360/.404 in 66 G but fielding only .895 at short) and the Toledo Mud Hens/Charleston Senators in AAA (.234/.285/.336 in 36 G, fielding just .899 at third base). He ended his career in 1953 with Carman in the Manitoba-Dakota League, hitting .286 with 12 dingers.

One source says he was born in Orangeburg, SC. He died at the age of 86 on August 23, 2011.

Sources

• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• Black Baseball's National Showcase by Larry Lester
• 1953 Baseball Guide

Related Sites

• BR Minors page