Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a retired American Major League Baseball (MLB) left fielder who played sixteen seasons for the Chicago Cubs and two seasons for the Oakland Athletics. Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1999, he was named a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Williams was one of the best Cubs players. He was the 1961 NL Rookie of the Year and was a National League (NL) and Cubs All-Star for six seasons. In 1970, he had a .322 batting average with 42 home runs and 129 runs batted in (RBI), led the NL with 205 hits, and was the NL Most Valuable Player runner-up. In 1972, he won the NL batting title hitting .333. Williams hit over 400 home runs in his career including 30 or more for five seasons. He also hit over .300 for five seasons and had over 100 RBI for three seasons.

Williams was a highly competitive player on Chicago Cubs teams that never reached the post-season. When he finally played in the post-season during the next to final year of his career with the Oakland Athletics, the "A's" did not play in the World Series. In 1999, he was selected as a member of the Cubs All-Century Team.

Billy Williams was born in Whistler, Alabama. His father Frank was a stevedore who had also played first base for the semipro Whistler Stars. Williams grew up in a segregated neighborhood. He attended Whistler High School. Entering professional baseball in 1956, Williams started his minor league career with the Ponca City Cubs of the Sooner State League. After returning to Ponca City in 1957 and hitting 17 home runs, Williams split 1958 between the Burlington Bees and Pueblo Bruins.

...
Wikipedia