Ted Williams' Shyness and Generosity

A cartoon in 1950.

Ted Williams remains one of the great legends of baseball and sports. The following is some insight about Williams from the upcoming book "Quotes, Jokes and Anecdotes" I am putting together. Sports writer Fred Russell covered Williams and his Red Sox teammates back in the 40's and 50's. Russell writes:

"Most of Ted Williams’ peculiarities can be traced to shyness. He’s such a public figure that he won’t do the natural things, out in the open, for fear somebody would think they’re ‘corny.’ Such as back-slapping a teammate, etc. But in the privacy of the dugout, he’ll do it. He’s on guard for ‘phonies,’ but no one could be nicer or more generous to persons in whom he has confidence."