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Bigger than life, even in death
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist, 7/7/2002
There are few local residents who can remember any time before Ted. The Kid burst on the scene in 1939 and remained in the spotlight for the next 63 years. He didn't play any baseball in the last 32 seasons, but his legend somehow grew. Massive coverage of Williams's passing only confirmed what we already knew: He was the greatest sports figure in Boston history and one of the major local newsmakers of the last century. How big is big? Think of the most famous New Englanders of the last 100 years ... John F. Kennedy. Tip O'Neill. Cardinal Cushing. James Michael Curley. Ted Kennedy. Arthur Fiedler. How many were bigger than Ted Williams? Outside of the Kennedys, Williams probably generated more controversy and coverage than anybody in our region in the 20th century. And it hasn't stopped. Not even close. Teddy Ballgame was amused by the attention. He never read any of the books that were written about him, but he liked being the biggest person in the room. He had an opinion about everything. He no doubt would have been sad to have known of the war being waged among his children. Williams's passing brings to mind that of Joe DiMaggio. They were friendly rivals in life. Who was bigger? Joe had the 56-game hitting streak. Ted had the .406 average. Joe D had Marilyn Monroe and Mr. Coffee and Ernest Hemingway and Simon & Garfunkel in his stable. But Ted had the combat missions over Korea and John Glenn and the Jimmy Fund and his very own tunnel. Joe D was the Yankee Clipper. He was Santiago's Great DiMaggio. Ted was simply the greatest hitter who ever lived. Inspiration for ''The Natural.'' Like DiMaggio, Williams's private life had more than its share of sadness. Many were aware of a rift between his children, but no one was prepared for the acrimony in the hours after the slugger's death. Lawyers are already involved and it is believed that Ted's son, John Henry Williams, has taken steps to have his father's body frozen in hopes that the slugger someday may be revived. The bizarre news was delivered by Ted's first daughter, Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell. John Henry Williams yesterday said, ''I don't want to talk about that now.'' He would neither confirm nor deny the cryonics report, and acknowledged that the lack of response would lead all rational people to conclude it is true. He said he slept in his father's bed Friday night. John Henry's attorney, Eric Abel, said, ''Bobby-Jo Ferrell is an estranged daughter of Ted Williams and has been for a lengthy period of time. The other two children [John Henry and Claudia] were very close to their father.'' Reached at her home in Florida yesterday, Bobby-Jo said, ''John Henry told me I was no longer welcome to come to Dad's house or I would be arrested. That was because I said no to the cryonics and that was two years ago. ''This is all so sad because my dad was an honest kind of guy and John Henry's not. My dad died so lonesome and so alone. He was desperately sick for two years that didn't need to happen. Do you think in your heart that last Thursday night John Henry talked to my dad and my dad said he loved him? I talked to my dad three weeks ago and he was a dying man, babbling like a little child.'' No funeral. No service. Plenty of chaos. Ted Williams will be honored Tuesday at the All-Star Game in Milwaukee. The Red Sox are going ahead with plans to have a commemorative Ted-fest on the night of July 22, when the team is off. As of yesterday, Bobby-Jo had not spoken with anyone from Major League Baseball regarding Tuesday's event. ''Nobody's gonna tell me anything because everyone knows that John Henry is running the ballgame,'' she said. She was put in touch with the Red Sox and likely will attend the July 22 memorial celebration. There's some nasty symmetry here. Bobby-Jo's birth was one of the events that turned Williams against the press. She arrived two weeks early and Ted was fishing in the Everglades when she was born Jan. 28, 1948. Williams was skewered in the Boston papers for not being present for the birth of his first child. Now he has died, and the little girl is 53 years old and unable to mourn properly. She had one final question/plea at the end of an interview early yesterday. ''Can you find out where my father's body is right now?'' Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.
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esterday was the first full day of life without Ted Williams in New England. But even in death, he continues to make headlines.