Former Spokane Indians player Jimmy Williams dies at 90
BALTIMORE – Longtime minor league player and manager Jimmy Williams, a regular outfielder for Spokane’s first Pacific Coast League team, died June 6 in Baltimore, one month past his 90th birthday.
Williams, who spent all of his 18 seasons as a player in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, batted .302 in 142 games when the Spokane Indians made their PCL debut in 1958.
He ended his playing career with 2,017 minor league hits and a .288 average. Beginning as a player-manager in 1963, he managed 17 seasons, through 1980, including a 1977 stint for the Dodgers at Albuquerque.
The Toronto native was a member of Houston’s National League coaching staff in 1975. He retired after seven seasons (1981-87) as a Baltimore Orioles coach followed by a term in the front office of the Cleveland Indians.