I do not have any personal stories to share about Jimy “One M” Williams, who died in late January at 80. The California native was briefly a major leaguer but he had a much more robust career as the Toronto Blue Jays third base coach and eventual manger. He was later American League Manager of the Year with the Boston Red Sox.
Williams led the Jays through some exciting seasons from 1986 to 1989 before Cito Gaston took them to two World Series championships in the early ’90s.
One guy who does have a story to share is Kevin Vahey. The Boston-based sports producer and cameraman has kindly shared TV sports jaw-droppers with brioux.tv on several earlier occasions. Here is Vahey on Jimy Williams:
I have one distinct memory of Jimy Williams. Back in 1988, I was producing a baseball show that aired locally on Boston area cable. One night our host interviewed Jimy when he was managing the Jays and since Toronto played all their home games on Astroturf he asked Williams, “How does your team play on grass?” and he answered, “None of my players use grass”. I am the cameraman and I knew what I had was gold. I left Fenway and went back to Somerville to make a copy and then drove to Allston and gave the tape to Bob Lobel (host of WBZ’s Bob Lobel’s Sports Spotlight) knowing he was doing the show that night and he used it. A week later I am half asleep watching Letterman and Marv Albert comes on with his sports bloopers and the Williams clip appears.
