Even as a high schooler Ted Williams attracted attention from afar. Back at San Diego’s Herbert Hoover High, the teenager’s advanced hitting and pitching skills lured offers from the Yankees and Cardinals. But young Ted’s mother wanted her boy to stay close to home and finish school, so Ted settled for his hometown San Diego Padres. At the time, the Padres were in the Pacific Coast League, one rung below the Majors and the equivalent to today’s Triple-A. Williams started as a backup outfielder, but by the end of the 1936 season he earned a starting spot. Most importantly, the 17 year-old had attracted the attention of Hall of Famer Eddie Collins, then a scout for the Boston Red Sox. Collins filed away the teenager’s name and quietly kept tabs on his progress. Ted ended the season with a .271 average and returned to Hoover High.
That spring, Ted returned to the Padres where he joined a club chock-full of former Major Leaguers such as former 1927 Yankees outfielder Cedric Durst and pitcher Bill Shores, who had been on the legendary 1929-31 Philadelphia A’s teams. The PCL’s famed legal spit-baller, Frank Shellenback, was a mainstay of the mound corps and former Yankees 2nd baseman Jimmy Reese anchored the infield. At 18, Ted was youngest, but the Padres also had a smattering of other kids who would eventually join Williams in the Majors such as George Myatt, George Gonzales and Bud Stewart. Throughout the summer of ’37, Williams batted .291 and launched 23 homers, helping the team make the PCL playoffs and eventually the Pacific Coast League Championship. When the season ended, Ted Williams was the most sought after player in the Minors, but it was the steadfast Eddie Collins who would come away with the prize.
This large 16” by 20” original team photograph captures Ted Williams and his San Diego Padres teammates during their 1937 PCL Championship season. Ted is in the back row, trying his best to imitate the game face of his older teammates. The photo has corner and edge damage, with some portions of the edges missing and tearing which intrudes into the image, though none affect the players themselves. The team name and date is carefully hand lettered above the players and their names are listed below. A rare and tremendous find that depicts the greatest hitter of them all, Ted Williams, right at the start of his Hall of Fame career.