Billy Williams Marquee Hall of Fame 1987

He almost quit in 1959, homesick in the minors, and the Cubs sent Buck O'Neil to Alabama to talk him back. He was Rookie of the Year in 1961, then played at least 150 games every season from 1962 through 1973, twelve years without a break in the Chicago lineup.

In 1970 he led the National League in hits with 205 and in runs with 137, and hit 42 home runs. In 1972 he batted .333 with 37 home runs and 122 driven in, and The Sporting News named him its player of the year. He finished with 2,711 hits and 426 home runs.

None of it took him anywhere in October. The 1969 Cubs, the best team he played on, led their division into September and finished second, and eighteen seasons ended without a World Series game, including two years as a designated hitter in Oakland. The Hall of Fame elected him in 1987.