U.S. Marine fighter pilot Ted Williams in the cockpit of his Grumman F9F Panther Jet during the Korean War.

18 comments

  3. He was such an ace he became an instructor.

    Turns out if you combine ball player and Marine, you get a Rembrandt of profanity. The American Masters episode about him opened with clips of people talking about his legendary ability to curse. One old guy was like “he could go on a two-minute-long blue streak and never use the same curse word twice.”

  4. He flew in a squadron with future astronaut John Glenn.

    There is a (possibly apocryphal) story that his eyesight was so good that he would spot bogeys before the radar

  6. I remember reading that due to his height, it would have been impossible for him to eject from that aircraft.

  7. OOH RAH!!! Marine veteran here. When I was a kid I stood in line for 2 hours to get Williams’ autograph. Still have it!

  8. and yet he still played more games during the years he was fighting in WWII than mr hollywood lifestyle has for the angels

  9. Really taints the records of players who played during the early 1970s and 2000s. Imagine what Ted would’ve accomplished if he didn’t answer the call

  10. A really good piece trying to project his career stats without the military service:

    >Based off of the expected values alone, that would bring Ted Williams’s career totals to **633 HR** (6th All-Time, +14 rank difference), **3,208 H** (14th All-Time, +51 rank difference), **2,197 RBI** (3rd All-Time, +11 rank difference) and **148.53 WAR** (7th All-Time, +7 rank difference).

    [What If Ted Williams Never Went To War? – N2K Sports](https://need2ksports.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/what-if-ted-williams-never-went-to-war/)

  11. Ted Williams batted against 450 different pitchers in his whole career. He was probably just bored and flying planes was more exciting.

  18. Had the good fortune to have dinner with him once. Total character. Exactly as described. Very smart and knowledgeable, and cranky and funny.

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