Ted Williams, My Father: A Memoir

by Claudia Williams

In this poignant memoir, Claudia Williams, the last surviving child of legendary Boston Red Sox great and Hall of Famer Ted Williams, tells her father’s story, including never-before-told anecdotes about his life on and off the field that reveal the flesh and blood man behind “The Kid.”Born after her father retired from baseball, Claudia Williams grew up with little idea that her dad was one of the most revered sports figures of all time—until she finally saw him in uniform at Fenway Park, receiving the adulation of thousands of fans.Now in this moving and surprising memoir, Claudia offers an unexpected look at Ted Williams, viewed from a unique and fresh perspective. Here she recalls her childhood growing up with a baseball legend after his heyday, capturing their loving yet tumultuous relationship, and shares the beloved stories he passed on to her. Reconciling his talent on the field with his life off of it, Claudia reveals the myriad passions—including baseball and much more—which shaped who he was. She also speaks candidly for the first time about his controversial choice to be cryogenically preserved after his death.Complete with sixteen pages of never-before-seen color photographs, told with sincerity and heart, Claudia William’s poignant memoir is a love letter to New England and one of its greatest sons—Ted Williams—the champion, the man, and most importantly, the father.

Genres: Baseball, Biography, Memoir, Sports, Nonfiction

320 pages, Unknown Binding

First published May 13, 2014

Reviews

[Leon Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

My most favorite book of all time written about Ted Williams. This book shows the real self and the real perspective of this mans personality and actions. I have read numerous books abut Ted, and this was my most favorite. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves and wants to learn the real Ted.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book written by Ted Williams only surviving daughter. She portrays what the "man" Ted Williams was really like. She had quite a life living with the baseball star. Not an easy life. She had such determination to do well in her life, making her dad proud of her.

[Aspasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a baseball fan but I used to live in the same county as Ted Williams- a county that most people have never heard about, so it was weird and thrilling to see familiar hometown names in a national book. I skimmed this book especially the last third. Claudia paints Williams and her brother John-Henry as saints and they both had reputations as being jerks sometimes. Also, she sugarcoats the whole freezing controversy that overtook Citrus County for months.

[Marcia Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about the man, not only the baseball player. It gives insight into the "why" he was the way he was. Learned a lot about his life, his loves, and his children. Baseball players are people first, flaws and all. Worth reading and was great to meet Claudia and see her answer questions in person.

[Josh Avery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it would be a good idea to piggyback this one after the Ted Williams book I finished previously. Claudia Williams is the youngest, and only surviving child of, The Splendid Splinter, she was born 10 years after Ted retired, 3 years younger than her brother, John-Henry, 25 years younger than her half-sister Bobby-Jo. Her mom was a model, former Miss Vermont, and never remarried after her and Ted divorced, stating numerous times that he was the love of her life.

This is by all means a fluff piece, primarily about her dad, who could be gruff, but she claims he was a great dad when he was around, but, she seems to look entirely through rose colored glasses about her brother and the strange legal and personal stuff that clouded Ted's later years.

She is also pretty open about knowing that she was not the favorite child, Ted had no use for daughters and because the sun rose and set on the head of John-Henry, she seemed able to avoid resentment and appreciate what she could get from him, she was the athlete, having completed a couple of triathlons with her dad in attendance.

She villainizes her half-sister quite a bit, as she seemed to listen to what her brother and her mom said about Bobby-jo and refusing to take the opportunity to get to know her at all.

As always when it comes to disputes about deaths, legacies and controversies, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle, and I personally think that John-Henry Williams was a horrible human being who took advantage of his ailing legendary dad, she backs him up on everything regarding the cryonic freezing of his head, and how he ran the business of Ted Williams. She even claimed that the cryonic thing was all her idea and her research. She is also married to the family's long time lawyer which will certainly raise an eyebrow.

This book is written by someone who seems to have just recorded notes on a journal and left the editors to properly sort everything out. It's just not all that compelling IMO, and you can literally read some of the things said about her brother being shown in her stories while she quickly deflected as her fault.

It's a "D", meh. Interesting if you are into the Tedsicle and what happened to him, but, not much of anything else here.

[MountainAshleah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really hard to review this book. It's prototypical toxic masculinity, everyone running around trying to please The Great Man. And in this case, he's not just cranky, he's a nasty, abusive, angry jerk. The author tries to make excuses for him, but she comes across as a poor dog begging for scraps at the table. Yes, as she aged and he aged, he started giving his adult kids the human decency they deserved. Why? Because his last doormat female was dead and he didn't want to be alone.

I'm about the same age as the author, and my father was also a professional baseball player who likely played against Williams. While not nearly as famous, he was also an angry, misogynistic man who regretted being married and being a father. He also came around decades later, same type of pattern as Williams. Yes, you forgive, but you don't ever really trust these guys, not even as old men.


The author doesn't have much choice in the matter of how she presents her narrative. She loved her father, but she's not going to hold him fully accountable. I get it, but that's still hard to stomach. The last segment of the memoir takes a very strange, disturbing, and borderline incestuous twist.

[Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about Ted Williams from her daughter. It is her viewpoint of Ted and life. I find it odd that she dismisses all of the other books and newspaper articles. There is a tremendous amount of written and recorded material about Williams that I have a hard time saying it is all false information. Just as she dismisses all of the other material, I would say her view is pretty rose colored as there are no favorable comments about anyone except her brother and mother. I found it odd that her mother disappeared in the last quarter of the book.
Still it is an excellent view of a ball player who was one of my favorite players by his daughter. Just remember that there are other views that help paint the complete picture.

[Eileen Sateriale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear Claudia,

Thank you for sharing your story. I cannot rate or review a personal memoir. Reading the book, I learned that you and John-Henry learned some positive lessons from your father and mother. I hope that you live a long life and share those lessons with others.

I would like to share a personal story with you. My aunt Pat received the first heart operation through the Jimmy Fund in the 1950s. Your Dad visited her when she was in the hospital. It made my aunt very happy. Ted Williams cared about kids!

Peace to you.
Eileen

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takeaways: Ted Williams was a volatile SOB, but he loved 2 of his 3 kids as he got older and apparently loved his son John-Henry from day one. He loved to fish. His head is in fact in a cryogenic chamber. His son is also "frozen" as is the author who passed away in late 2023 as announced in July 2024.

[Pam Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening

This was a very good story. I have heard about Ted Williams all my life and what a great player he was. It was wonderful reading about the type of man he was. Thank you for sharing your story.

[Lisa McCombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

You do not need to be a baseball fan to appreciate this sincere tribute to the greatest ballplayer of all time. Ted Williams is an inspiration to anyone in need of a lift in spirit Claudia Williams animates the life of this national hero within these pages.

[Jake Fones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book behind the scenes in the life of baseball legend Ted Williams, and his family. This memoir describes the real story of Ted Williams, not how the media made him look. The book was not what I expected, but in the end I enjoyed reading this book very much.