Dennis Williams' baseball career began in Central Butte under the tutelage of Bob Champman and Ralph Peterson, both of whom played in the South Saskatchewan Baseball League with the Rowletta Lakers.
Williams spent two years of high school in Regina at Campion College and was fortunate to be coached by Lionel Ruhr, who, in many ways, was his mentor. Ruhr encouraged Williams to play some of the 1958 season with Regina Red Sox while at Campion to help gain experience in the Southern League.
In 1959 Williams' family moved to Moose Jaw and he finished high school that year. He joined the Moose Jaw Steelers under Mike Dayne, who, beyond a doubt, was the most inspirational manager he ever played for.
Two seasons later the chance of a lifetime presented itself when Williams was recruited by the College of the Sequoias in California for their baseball program.
He spent three years at the College of the Sequoias, being ineligible for his first year as he was an out-of-state player. He started as shortstop for CoS for two years and had success playing with and against some great players who went on to play in the majors.
After his final season at CoS he was offered a baseball scholarship at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas where he finished his college eligibility.
A great memory from his days in Texas was when he played against the University of Texas Longhorns in front of 10,000 crazed fans. Behind his team's bench was the Longhorns football team, who were jabbing him about behind from Moose Jaw.
Each summer during his college career, Williams returned to the Southern League with the Moose Jaw Regals and did that until 1969, with the exception of 1967 when he played for the Swift Current Indians.
Several of his years in the Southern League he was named as the all-star shortstop, and over the 10 years he consistently hit over .300 for a batting average. In 1968 he was named the Regals' player manager.
He won the prestigious Lacombe, Alta. tournament in back-to-back years against some great teams from western Canada and the States.
When Williams looks back on his baseball life it is not the college baseball experience that really stands out for him, but rather his experiences in the South Saskatchewan Baseball League.
"I guess my baseball roots are truly Saskatchewan based and no amount of travel can change that," admits the baseball legend.
After his active baseball career ended, he returned to Visalia, Calif. where he lives with his family today.
He taught English and history while coaching baseball in high school for five years.
In an interview Williams said, "It is indeed a real honour to be nominated for the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and I wish to thank everyone connected with the organization for their efforts, not only on my behalf, but for all of the honourees over the years."
Williams will join 12 other individuals, one team and one family as the class of 2010 during the induction ceremony Aug. 21. Tickets to the event are available by phoning 446-1983, or e-mailing [email protected] or simply by stopping by the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Battleford.
