Dewey Williams

Dewey Edgar Williams
(Dee)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut June 28, 1944
• Final Game September 26, 1948
• Born February 5, 1916 in Durham, NC USA
• Died March 19, 2000 in Williston, ND USA

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Biographical Information

Catcher Dewey Williams spent eighteen seasons in professional baseball from 1937 to 1954. During this run, he was affiliated with ten different major league organizations. Williams spent all or parts of four major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs from 1944 to 1947. He was with the Cubs for the full year in their pennant-winning 1945 season and had his best hitting average while in the big leagues at .280. Williams also appeared in two games in the World Series against the American League's Detroit Tigers as a pinch-hitter, but failed to hit, going 0 for 2. As of the year 2010, it can be said that Dewey played on the last Chicago Cubs team to win a pennant.

He also had a full year with the Cincinnati Reds in 1948, ending his major league run while appearing in 193 games with 464 at-bats and 108 base hits for a .233 career average.

Prior to Dewey's time in the major leagues, he spent seven seasons in the minors. He had a split season in 1937, his first year in professional baseball, appearing in 14 games as a pitcher with the Atlanta Crackers, going 4-5 with a 5.59 ERA and finished out the year with the Macon Peaches of the class B South Atlantic League as an outfielder. His combined .265 batting average was his best until he hit .313 in 48 games and 150 at-bats, catching for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, during a partial year in 1944.

After finishing his final run in the big leagues with the Reds in 1948, Dewey was drafted by the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League on December 5, 1949 from the Cincinnati Reds in the minor league phase of the 1949 Rule V Draft. Williams spent five more seasons in the minors (1950-1954), all in AA, AAA and Open leagues.

He had his best season of this run in 1952 with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association, hitting .294 in 84 games and 272 at-bats. Dewey appeared in 40 games for the Memphis Chickasaws of the Southern Association in 1954, hitting just .215 and at the age of 38 with 18 seasons under his belt, he called it a career. He appeared in 1,425 games, had 3,990 at bats and 971 base-hits for a minor league career batting average of .243.

After baseball, he worked for the National Tank Company, the Williston Parks and Recreation Board and the Montana Dakota Utilities, retiring in 1982. He died on March 19, 2000, in Williston, ND. Dewey Edgar Williams was 84 years of age.

Related Sites

• Dewey Williams at the SABR Bio Project