Dick Williams, 82
 

Growing up in Hartford, 80 minutes from Boston, and with my dad's company having 7th row season tickets behind the Sox dugout at Fenway, there wasn't much choice but to be a fan. In 1965-66, my father had built an apartment complex in Peabody, and many Sox including Dick Williams, Joe Foy, Tony C., Reggie Smith and more lived in it. Early in the '67 season before a game, my dad arranged for us to get into the Sox clubhouse and meet Dick and several players. I was 7. Williams, Lee Stange, Jim Lonborg and Dalton Jones signed a baseball for me. I won't ever forget it, and obviously the rest of 1967 was magical in New England. While I didn't stay a Red Sox fan, I was always a fan of any team Williams managed.

Dick Williams; Sox skipper for Impossible Dream season

The Red Sox had suffered through eight straight losing seasons before Dick Williams took over as manager before the 1967 season. Opening Day that season drew only 8,324 fans to Fenway Park, such was the lack of interest in the team. Mr. Williams and the “Impossible Dream’’ Sox changed that, advancing to the World Series and capturing the sporting heart of an entire region.

One of the architects of a phenomenon that continues to this day, Mr. Williams died yesterday at 82. A member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, Mr. Williams died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm at a hospital near his home in Henderson, Nev. “Players had great respect for him,’’ said Carl Yastrzemski, the star of the 1967 Sox. “He worked hard, and he wanted everybody to work hard. He was the right guy at the right time.’’

1967 BOSTON RED SOX

No doubt about it, he was very good manager.