John Henry Williams (baseball)

John Henry Williams (August 27, 1968 – March 6, 2004) was the only son of baseball legend Ted Williams. His mother was Ted's third wife, Dolores.

Background

Williams saw little of his father after his parents divorced in 1972. By all accounts, the relationship between Ted and Dolores remained chilly as their children grew. Dolores raised John Henry and his sister Claudia on a farm near Putney, Vermont, USA.

Ted was a sporadic presence in the boy's life, but he did get John Henry acceptedFact|date=April 2008 into Bates College, where he spent three semesters before transferring to the University of Maine. He earned a B.S. in marketing in 1991.

Business

In 1992, during the height of the sports card boom, John Henry, along with Grand Slam Marketing, founded a sports card company called the Ted Williams Card Company. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/features/1998/williams/1996.html] The company issued 2 baseball and one football sets (all three composed of retired players) over the next three years before it folded in 1995.

in 1999, he ran internet service provider under the name hitter.net (formally known as Hitter Communications) that offered "nationwide" dial-up Internet Access the dial up service was offered as a white label product of AT&T, He company was considered to be one of the largest ISP's within the Tampa Bay area. He was assigned a dedicated account team under the who handled most of the larger ISP within the region. John Henry also the web hosting company Strictly Hosting. The ISP went out of business in 2001 after filing for bankruptcy protection and was acquired by Earthlink. The web hosting company also went out of business during 2001 and was sold to a 3rd party which continued in operation for a few years afterward.

Baseball career

In 2002, at the age of 33, John Henry entered pro baseball, with Ted pulling strings to get him onto the Red Sox's rookie team in the Gulf Coast League.Fact|date=April 2008 After just two games (where he failed to get a hit in six at-bats), he broke two ribs crashing into the stands in an attempt to catch a foul ball, ending his season. In 2003, Williams signed with the Schaumburg Flyers of the independent Northern League but was released in spring training. Later that season, John Henry played for two teams in the independent Southeastern League: the Selma Cloverleafs and the Baton Rouge Riverbats, where hit a combined .149 in 27 games. [http://minors.sabrwebs.com/cgi-bin/person.php?milbID=willia012joh]

Alcor controversy

John Henry had always been a highly controversial figure in sports and sports collectibles circles, but this reached a fever pitch after Ted died on July 5, 2002. Announcing there would be no funeral, he had Ted's body flown to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, and placed in cryonic suspension. John Henry's lawyer produced an informal family pact signed by Ted, John Henry, and Claudia in which they agreed "to be put into biostasis after we die."

As noted in Leigh Montville's book, "Ted Williams: An American Hero", this document was disputed, as it appeared to be a "practice autograph" with the rest of the contract written "around" it: It was signed "Ted Williams", whereas Williams typically signed legal documents with his full name.

Barbara Joyce (Bobbie Jo) Ferrell, Ted's daughter by his first wife, sued John Henry, claiming that Ted wanted to be cremated, and led a very public campaign against her half-brother. She also feared John Henry was planning to sell their father's DNA. A judge ruled that the signature on the family pact was Ted's, and, the note would stand as his final request. On December 20, 2002, Ferrell withdrew her objections after a judge agreed that a $645,000 trust would be distributed equally among the siblings.

Death

In October 2003, it was announced that John Henry had been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, the same disease that claimed Ted's brother, Danny, in 1960. He began chemotherapy, and underwent a bone marrow transplant with a donation from Claudia. He died with Claudia and Dolores at his side on March 6, 2004 at the UCLA Medical Center.

John-Henry's body was then transported to Alcor, in further fulfillment of the controversial agreement. [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1753358]

External links

* http://www.hitter.net (Former home of his ISP, now goes to his father's memorial)
* [http://www.minorleaguenews.com/features/raves/articles2003/081303.html Is Sports Illustrated Out to Get John Henry Williams? - Minor League News 08.13.03]
* [http://www.minorleaguenews.com/features/raves/articles2004/030804.html John Henry Williams - Elegy for a Lightweight - Minor League News]
* [http://www.minorleaguenews.com/baseball/independent/northernleague/flyers/articles2003/030703.html The Kid's Kid - Minor League News - August 2003]