Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.
It’s easy for Stan Williams to talk about the who’s who of baseball’s past because he is one of them.
From 1958-62, Williams was a prominent member of one of baseball’s best pitching rotations. With Don Drysdale and Williams, a pair of hard-throwing right-handers, and Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres, a pair of crafty left-handers, the Los Angeles Dodgers had no reason to pray for rain.
They just went out and beat the other teams as scheduled, with their four top pitchers winning a combined 272 games in five seasons. Over the span, the Dodgers won 432 games, won the National League pennant in 1959 and finished second in 1961 and 1962. The 1962 team won 102 games.
It was an exciting beginning of a 14-year major-league career for Williams, who graduated from Denver’s East High School just four years before joining the Dodgers’ pitching staff.
“Getting to the big leagues with the Dodgers was tough,” Williams said. “There were nine pitchers on the staff, and you started and relieved. The four pitchers going the best at the time were the starters. You had to fight to keep your job.”
Williams’ importance on the staff grew, and in 1960 he started 8-1 and was considered the ace. But a freak accident against the Milwaukee Braves resulted in an arm injury that changed the path of Williams’ career. Braves pitcher Lew Burdette was known for scuffing up the mound, and Williams landed wrong in one of the trenches.
“I tried to pitch four days later and there wasn’t any pain, but my arm was dead,” Williams said. “I was a thrower in the 100-mph range. After that I had to learn how to pitch. I had a great spitter that I used occasionally.
“I was a knockdown pitcher, and Drysdale and I were the same. I still think Koufax was the best pitcher who ever lived. If it was a money game, you gave the ball to Johnny Podres.”
The injury eventually cut Williams’ playing time to three appearances in 1965 and none in 1966.
“Stan Williams was a bulldog on the mound,” said Tommy Lasorda, whose lifelong commitment to the organization has made him Mr. Dodger. “He wanted to beat you. When you had a staff of Drysdale, Koufax, Podres and Williams, you had a staff second to none. The only one I can think of that might be comparable would have been the Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Mike Garcia group in Cleveland.”
Williams went on to pitch for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox before retiring in 1972. He compiled a 109-94 record and 1,305 strikeouts in 1,764 innings. He made it to the World Series with the Dodgers and Yankees. He has six World Series rings, including as a player with the Yankees (twice) and Dodgers and as a pitching coach for the Red Sox, Yankees and Cincinnati.
Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider were some of his Dodgers teammates. He met Jackie Robinson in spring training in 1957, and he played for manager Walter Alston. With the Yankees, there were Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra. Williams said Henry Aaron was the best hitter he faced.
Williams, 69, is still on the job, this year as a scout for Tampa Bay. But even in 1954, signing players was a tricky business.
“I was talking with a scout from Pittsburgh, but he came back after I graduated from East and said he couldn’t do all that he said,” Williams said. “I didn’t like that too much, so I signed with the Dodgers.”
Williams remembered that he received $4,000 that included his first year’s salary.
“That sounded like a lot of money when you didn’t have a quarter in your pocket,” Williams said. “I never went to school on a snow day. I shoveled walks to make some money. I didn’t go to the junior-senior prom at East because I couldn’t dance, and I had holes in my shoes.”
Williams resides in Lakewood, Calif., but he says he’s still a Coloradan at heart. When his baseball trips bring him to Denver, he makes sure there’s a chance to meet with his classmates from East.
“The only regret I have is the sore arm that cut my career some,” Williams said. “But I know I made it to the big leagues when every team had a bunch of players stacked up at every position. I feel like I’m 48 and somebody could still give me the ball.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
