Complete Baseball Man
From the 1973 Denver Bears Game Program
-- He spent 18 years as a player in the Dodgers organization, which means he knows how baseball should be played.
-- He's managed two of the previous four years in the American Association, which means he knows the league.
Williams as Manager of the Southern League Champion 1970 Columbus Astros. . . . . .And As Manager of the 1973 Denver Bears
Jim Williams takes over the job of managing the 1973 Denver Bears with the finest possible background.
-- He's managed the last three years in the farm system of the Houston Astros, both at the high and low level[s], which means he knows nearly all of the personnel in the system.
In 1971 his Oklahoma City club chased Denver to the wire before losing the Western Division championship to the Bears by just two games.
In 1970, his Columbus, Ga., club, Houston's class AA affiliate won the Southern League pennant.
"I've known Jim for ten years," General Manager Jim Burris says. "He's a complete baseball man, knowledgeable, confident, and a guy who's not afraid to take chances
His Oklahoma City and Iowa teams in the American Association were disciplined and very hard to beat.
"I like a manager who has come up through the Dodger
organization , where fundamentals receive heavy emphasis."
During his 10 years as a field skipper, Williams brought in two pennant winners and two second place finishers. Last year he handled the Houston Astros' young talent at Cocoa in the Florida State League.
The 45-year-old native of Toronto, Canada, played both the outfield and infield in his pro career spanning the years 1947- 1964. He began his managerial careeer in 1963. In addition to baseball, Williams played in the American Hockey League in 1947 and 1948.
Williams never played a game of major league ball, other than
in spring exhibitions, his several tryouts with the Dodgers. But cracking the Dodger roster was no easy task in the days when Williams was at the peak of his performance. The Dodgers were loaded with top talent in those years and went pretty much with a set lineup.
Jim met Lorraine Elliott in 1949 when he was playing with Pueblo in the Western League and married the native Pueblan the following year. They have made their home in Pueblo ever since. They have three children--Chris, 20, a junior at the Air Force Academy; Kirk, 15; and Julie, 11.
Year
Team
League
Record
Placed
1970
Columbus Astros
Southern
78 - 59
FIRST
1971
Oklahoma City '89ers
American Assoc.
71 - 69
Second
1972
Cocoa Astros
Florida State
56 - 72
Fifth
1973
Denver Bears
American Assoc.
61 - 75
Fourth and Last
1974
Columbus Astros
Southern
65 - 73
Fourth and Last