Dick Williams Marquee Hall of Fame 2008

He played 1,023 games from 1951 to 1964, moving between positions as much as between clubs: 456 games in the outfield, 257 at third base, 188 at first. He had 768 hits, 70 home runs and a .260 average. A shoulder injury early on turned him from a prospect into the sort of player who has to be useful in several places.

What he is in the Hall of Fame for is twenty-one seasons and six clubs: Boston, Oakland, California, Montreal, San Diego and Seattle, 1,571 wins against 1,451 losses, six first-place finishes. No club kept him longer than five years, and he left Oakland having just won two World Series in a row.

He appeared on eight Hall of Fame ballots. The Veterans Committee for managers and umpires elected him in 2008, and he lived three more years. He had a reputation for being disliked by his players and for winning anyway, and he did not much dispute either half.