Me and Ted (Part 2)...

So it was in the last week of September of 1954 that Ted Williams and entourage rolled through Presque Isle on the B&A on his way to Fish River. Apparently, the trip was, at least in part, subsidized by the railroad. The train stopped in front of the station. Almost 300 kids and grownups were there to greet the greatest Red Sox hitter of all time and a favorite among the baseball-card collecting kids of the 1950s decade. I was there. In fact, I was there after wiggling my way to the front…didn’t want to waste the moment in a back row. He stood on the train’s platform for a moment, then stepped down to greet the greeters. He was tall (6’3’’), slender (205 pounds) and handsome with movie star-like dark, wavy hair. Now…I checked the Star-Herald for any descriptions of Ted’s short stop in our village. Del Hodgkins had reported in his S-H weekly column, “Spudland Sportlights”, that Williams arrival was on a Monday. I wondered why I hadn’t been in school and decided that perhaps we were out for potato recess. Then I wondered why I wasn’t out in Phil Christie’s potato field pickin’. Well, I don’t know, but upon reflection, I certainly would have chosen Ted over pickin’. Reckon that Me with spot on hat and jacket slung over shoulder could have gone without saying, right? Anyway, there he stood reaching out to sign autographs. I had nothing on which to pass him for his signature. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Take this.” It was an envelope and to this day I believe that person was Bud Survant. If, by chance, Bud’s wife, Alice, is reading this piece, see the return address on the envelope which was passed to me. Did Bud work for or with the insurance group included in the address? If so, then it was Bud who made my day along with the photographer who was there to capture me standing directly in front of Ted. I’m eternally grateful to both. Sorry to say, but Bud’s not here to appreciate and share this memory with me. That moment was electrifying! Thus ended my brief encounter with one of baseball’s greatest. I profusely thank my mother for keeping well-organized scrapbooks in which I forever hold the proof---autographed envelope and S-H photos---of that encounter.

Ted’s personal life was apparently tough going all the way. He was offended by the attitude of the Fenway crowd; they were quick to “boo” when a Boston player made an error. He was temperamental and high-strung and often tactless demanding lots from his fellow players. For all of his 19-playing years and beyond, Williams clashed with the Boston newspapers accusing them of discussing his rough-and-tumble personal life as much as his baseball performance. He maintained a career-long feud with “SPORT” magazine for a feature article from 1948. The article included a quote from Williams’ mother which offended him greatly. Sorry, but I couldn’t locate that quote for your reading enjoyment.

So, Ted’s life, rich with performance accolades, was neutralized, if you will, by public scrutiny and three failed marriages. Next week, a glimpse at his “afterlife”, frozen in time, ready to be thawed, his head and his body to be re-attached and brought back to life to be re-united with his family. Sounds like a science-fiction yarn, to be sure, but stay tuned and learn that in a few years, perhaps Ted can be re-united with his kids and former wives (if he chooses), if the science of cryonics (cryogenics) advances. Strange, indeed……