"We started that Red Sox Nation," said Williams. "And they've won two championships since then. New York is great, but Red Sox fans are the most knowledgeable and ardent baseball fans."
Williams, who was voted into the Hall by the Veterans Committee, has always understood the great impact he had on Red Sox baseball, but in his speech he failed to point out he was being enshrined as an Oakland Athletic, having led those incredibly talented teams to World Series titles in 1972 and '73. However, Williams said he did his best work with the Montreal Expos in 1979 and '80 and he also was the first manager to bring the San Diego Padres to the World Series, where they lost to the Detroit Tigers in 1984.
While Williams is well-known for bringing out the passion of Red Sox fans, another of yesterday's honorees, Billy Southworth had a similar impact in Boston. Southworth guided the Boston Braves to the National League pennant in 1948 after the team had failed to finish first in more than 34 years. Of course, he did have Johnny Sain (24 wins) and Warren Spahn (15) in his rotation.
Because the Braves left Boston after the 1952 season, and because there aren't many left who remembered Southworth, his contribution to Boston sports sometimes gets overlooked. But those who chronicled Southworth's performance in '48 rank it among the greatest feats in Boston sports. The Braves lost to the Indians in the World Series.
Southworth managed 1,748 games and wound up with a .597 winning percentage, which ranks fifth all-time. His Cardinals won at least 105 games each season from 1942-44 and he won the World Series in '42 and '44.
Williams is familiar with Southworth because Williams grew up in St. Louis. Williams once used one of Southworth's old tricks in a game - the fake intentional walk against Johnny Bench. Gene Tenace, the catcher at the time, called for an intentional ball, but the pitcher threw a strike. The A's won the game.
