Ht.: 6-5, Wt.: 230. Bats right, throws right. Born Enfield, New Hampshire, September 13, 1936, resides in Denver.
Came into his own in fourth pro season by striking out 223 in 246 innings to lead AAA American Association; was second with 19 wins, lost seven, fourth with 3.04 ERA but also led with 148 walks. Year before had 9-7, 4.54 for same St. Paul club.
Signed out of Denver Legion ranks in '54. Fanned record 301 for Class B Newport News in '55, including 20 in one game at Lynchburg.
Scouting report: "Still a thrower and may need another year at Triple-A because of wildness and lack of poise. Has a real live fast ball and has developed slider to complement it. Needs sharper curve. It breaks too big now. A definite future big leaguer."
-from Scouting Reports, Baseball Digest, March 1958
"Big fast-baller who came along quickly in 1960, fading toward the close of the season. Stan captured 14 games and notched a 3.00 ERA. Another strikeout artist, he fanned 175 in 207 innings last season. Born in Enfield, New Hampshire, he joined the Dodgers in '58 and showed immediate promise.
Stan may be very close to challenging the National League's top hurlers now that he has conquered his control problems. He can start or relieve with equal effectiveness."
-Don Schiffer, The Major League Baseball Handbook 1961
"If Stan Williams learns to do things the Yankee way he could be the No. 4 starter at Yankee Stadium. The Enfield (NH) gunner left the Dodgers in the year's major deal, happy to get the opportunity to prove that he can absorb instructions cheerfully and patiently. Since joining the Dodgers in 1958 he's been threatening to become a big winner, but his 4.45 ERA in 1962 made L.A. give up on him.
Williams comes to American League with a 57-46 lifetime and a reputation for being a trifle wild. He had five years in the minors."
-Don Schiffer, 1963 Major League Baseball Handbook
"There is not much question about the place newcomer Stan Williams occupies in the Yankee scheme of things. The 6'4" right-hander looms large in Manager Ralph Houk's plans for 1963 ... and the future. Otherwise, the Yanks certainly would not have traded popular Moose Skowron for the former Dodger right-hander. The Yankees felt they need another regular starting pitcher. And, after a spring training season, they feel they got the right man.
Big Stan is only 26, but he's been a big-leaguer since mid-1958 when the Dodgers brought him up. Going into this season he had posted 57 wins against 46 losses, with only 760 hits in 872 innings pitched. Better still, Stan fanned 657 men and walked 429 in those 872 frames. In 1961, Stan struck out 205 batters, most by any National League right-handed pitcher.
But for a quirk of fate, perhaps Stan never would have been available to the Yankees. He had the misfortune of walking the Giants' Jim Davenport with the bases full to force in the winning run in the third and final playoff game last fall. Just the day before, Williams had been the star of the Dodgers' comeback victory, hurling five shutout relief innings. But as Stan himself says: 'Maybe it turned out for the best. I know I'm happy to be here and anxious to prove to the Yankees that they made the right move in getting me.' "
-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook
"The Yankees dipped into the interleague trading market last winter and made an important 'one-for-one' deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees traded away the popular veteran first baseman, Bill 'Moose' Skowron, in exchange for lanky Stan Williams, a 26-year-old fire-balling right-handed pitcher.
At mid-season the trade had not been a roaring success for either club as both men were finding it difficult adjusting to their new leagues. While Williams was winning only a pair of games the first two months of the season, manager Ralph Houk was confident that the big native of Enfield, New Hampshire, eventually would prove of great value to the champions. Another starting right-hander was needed last winter and Stan certainly was the best available.
Stan had been a winner with the Dodgers, with 14, 15 and 14 victories in the last three seaons, and an average of 163 strikeouts in each of those three campaigns. In 1961 he fanned 205 batters, top for a right-hander in the National League. He had posted 57 wins against 46 losses and yielded 760 hits in 872 innings pitched up to this year.
Williams expressed himself as very happy to be a Yankee this spring and is anxious to get back into his winning ways to convince Yankee fans that his acquistion was a good move by the World Champs."
-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook
Stan Wilson Williams (P) #19
Born September 15, 1936, in Enfield, New Hampshire, resides in Lakewood, California. Height: 6-4, weight: 230. Bats right, throws right.
Married and father of one boy, Stan, Jr. (4), and one girl, Shawn (3).
-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook
Acquired from Los Angeles in exchange for first baseman Bill Skowron, November 1962.
-1963 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
"Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for first baseman Bill Skowron on November 26, 1962, big Stan Williams is being counted on by Manager Ralph Houk as one of his regular starting pitchers.
Though one of the hardest throwers in the majors, Williams needs sharper control to reach the pinnacle of mound success.
Williams joined the Dodgers during the 1958 season after serving in the Dodger chain since 1954 with Shawnee, Newport News, Fort Worth and St. Paul.
Though he had only a 5-5 record in the Dodgers' pennant-winning year of 1959, he became one of the flag heroes when, in the final playoff game against the Milwaukee Braves, Stan hurled three scoreless innings and received credit for the 12-inning win which put the Dodgers into the World Series.
Besides appearing in the Series, Williams has pitched in one All-Star Game.
In his three years with LA, Stan's ERA has gone up each season. If he can correct that, and use the new strike zone to full advantage, the Bombers will have once more dealt their way to success."
-1963 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook
"The Yankees' newest starting pitcher is Stan Williams, 6'4" right-hander acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in an even-up trade for Bill 'Moose' Skowron. The 26-year-old Californian has won 14, 15 and 14 games in the last three seasons for the Dodgers while hurling a three-year total of 628 innings. In this time, Stan fanned 438 and walked 278. The Yankees have high hopes for their new starting hurler and expect him to round out a strong starting rotation of Whitey Ford, Ralph Terry and Bill Stafford."
-1963 New York Yankees Official Program and Scorecard
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