no. 380 - ted williams

Who is the man: The Senators bottomed out in Ted Williams' second year managing the team. Washington finished dead last in the AL East in 1970 after going 86-76 in 1969.

Can ya dig it: I saw this card during my early collecting days and it stuck in my brain. When I started collecting the 1971 set, I thought it would be forever before I acquired it. I was practically giddy when I bought it at a small card show in town with no trouble at all.

Right on: This is quite a difference from the photo Topps used of Williams in the 1970 set.

You see that cat Williams is a bad mother: In his first year of managing, Williams led the Senators to their only winning season in their 11-year existence between 1961-71.

Shut your mouth: When Williams reported to his first big league camp in 1938, the veteran Red Sox players knew he was a hot prospect but made sure to make him miserable that first year. His outfield competition, Ben Chapman, Joe Vosmik and Doc Cramer, gave Williams a hard time in particular. When camp broke, Williams saw the list of who was headed to train with the big league club and he wasn't on it. Enraged, he yelled at the three outfielders: "I'll be back. And I'll make more money in this f---ing game than all three of you combined."

No one understands him but his woman: In "Ted Williams, My Father," a 2014 book written by Williams' daughter Claudia, she remembers a time as a girl when she plugged the toilet while her father was on the phone. As water began to drip from the ceiling, a furious Williams ripped the phone from the wall and threw it across the room before realizing he now could not call a plumber.

(A word about the back): So far, Williams and Lum Harris are the only managers in which Topps writes about their playing careers instead of their managing careers. In Williams' case, I guess I'll give it a pass.