RELATED LINKS » 1967: The Fury at Fenway

Williams was a strong union man. He once said in 6 x x reference to the seven minor league umpires who worked ML games during the 1979 umpires' strike, "Nobody tells me who I ave to eat, sleep, or drink with, but when the blue suit goes on, it's a different story." Known for moving a game along, he once called the rare automatic ball on Astros pitcher Larry Dierker for failing to deliver a pitch within 20 seconds with no one on base. In his 25th and final year as a NL umpire, Billy had his leg broken in a play at home plate. (RTM)