| | Dick Williams, whose Hall of Fame hopes were dashed by a recent charge of indecent exposure, admits he "probably did the dumbest thing of my life." The former manager also insists he's not a deviant.
Williams was accused of walking naked and masturbating outside
his hotel room in Fort Myers, Fla., on Jan. 17. The 70-year-old
special adviser to the New York Yankees spent the night in jail.
"I'm stupid and guilty of being nude in the doorway," Williams
said Friday night by phone from his home in Henderson, Nev. "But I
was not masturbating. That part is simply not true and I want
people to know it."
"I was looking out for a few seconds before dressing for bed,"
he said in his first public comment on the episode. "But I was not
doing anything else. I was not walking around on a balcony, I had
no intention of being seen. That is totally ridiculous."
Williams, who guided the Oakland Athletics to World Series
championships in 1972-73 and won pennants with two other teams, has
paid heavily for the misstep.
Many observers thought he would be elected to the Hall of Fame
by the Veterans Committee in March, ahead of Sparky Anderson.
Instead, Williams, who won more than 1,500 games with Boston,
Oakland, California, Montreal, San Diego and Seattle, had virtually
no chance.
Williams also said the Yankees suggested he stay away from
spring training camp in Tampa, Fla., for this year.
"With everything else they had going on with Darryl Strawberry,
they wanted to let this die down and I agreed with them," he said.
And he became the butt of jokes throughout the baseball world
after it was learned he'd been arrested while attending the World
Series of Fantasy Baseball Camp.
"I was traumatized by it, I was so embarrassed," he said. "I
was embarrassed for my family, my friends, everyone."
Williams said he did not tell his wife, Norma, about the arrest
for a week. He did, however, speak to Yankees owner George
Steinbrenner.
"I called George right away and told him what happened. At
first, he laughed and said, 'You're too old for that.' But I told
him I didn't want to embarrass the New York Yankees."
At a hearing the day after his arrest, Williams pleaded no
contest and Judge Hugh Starnes withheld judgment. Williams was
released on time served, set free "in my pajamas," he said.
Williams said he did not know he was being accused of more than
being naked. According to a Lee County Sheriff's Office report, a
woman who worked next door to the hotel called the deputies, and
when they knocked on Williams' door, he was wearing pajamas.
"I was unaware of the masturbation charge because I was never
informed of it," he said. "Neither the arresting officer, the judge or anyone from the sheriff's department said a word about it. When I pleaded no contest, I honestly did not know that was part of it. I've even passed two polygraph tests, trying to clear my name."
It was only later that he thought about how the whole thing might hurt his Hall of Fame chances.
Williams' career record was 1,571-1,451. He led Oakland, Boston
and San Diego into the World Series, making him and Bill McKechnie
the only managers to do it with three teams.
"I thought this thing could finish me after 54 years in baseball," he said. "But if I'm not eligible for the Hall of Fame, I'll live with that stigma."
When the Veterans Committee met Feb. 29 at Tampa, chairman Joe
Brown initially told the 14-man panel not to vote for Williams. But Brown was quickly corrected, and members were informed Williams was indeed eligible.
"He was voted upon," Hall spokesman Jeff Idelson said. "He
wasn't removed. He was a candidate for election."
It is expected that Williams will be on the ballot next spring.
"It's for others to judge whether I should be in the Hall of Fame," Williams said. "I think my record speaks for itself."
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