There are reports that John Henry Williams, son of the recently departed Ted Williams, wants to have his father cryogenically frozen and then sell his dad's DNA. It was Ted's wish to be cremated. If true, this guy is a complete loser. I'm sure it will never happen-can't imagine any judge allowing this kind of nonsense. And seeing as he is Ted's son, not exactly a ringing endorsement for DNA!!!

Suppossedly, this is far from the first time Douche Bag has tried to make money off his father's name.

*He once had his dad sign an American flag (which is against the law) that hung in front of his home so he could sell it.

*He was the nitwit behind his dad wearing a cap with an Internet company name emblazoned on it during his final Fenway Park appearance at the 2000 All Star game.

*Sued his own sister for 2000 bats autographed by Ted.

*Prohibited Mets officials from distributing posters on Ted Williams night at Shea back in 1999 when the Red Sox came to Shea for an interleague series. Douche Bag said it was because the Mets didn't receive authorization. Mind you, the Mets weren't selling the posters, they were going to give them away.

C'mon George, why don't you tell us how you really feel about John Henry! He does seem like a greedy little bastard. It's a shame, because he's kind of cute.

Even though John Henry Williams's complete lack of character and decency has been chronicled for some time here in Boston, I didn't want to bring up the subject because it is just so pathetic. How ironic that a man who was so hard-working, so driven to perfection, and so accomplished (how many of us will make it into one Hall of Fame, much less two? not to mention Ted Williams's outstanding career as a pilot and his tireless devotion to the Jimmy Fund) has a son who never did an honest day's work in his life and will do anything and everything to make an easy greasy buck.

The stories don't end there. A number of locals (successful, well-respected members of the Boston business community) claim to have been ripped off by JHW, some to the tune of seven figures!! And then there is the truly pathetic tale of John Henry Williams getting signed to rookie ball at the age of THIRTY-FOUR! I think the Sox ownership, fearful of doing anything to hurt Teddy in his dying days, went ahead and perhaps unwisely agreed to signing JHW. Yuppers, until he broke a rib, JHW was down in the Gulf Coast League with all the Red Sox 17- and 18-year-old prospects. JHW shamelessly (and deludedly) claimed that he'd be moving up pretty quickly through the farm system. Figure it out, pal!! You weren't even good enough to start at 1st base for your high school team!!! He has a better chance of winning the lottery than he does of making it to the Lowell Spinners (Red Sox Single-A team), much less making it to the big team.

On local sports radio, some have tried to give JHW the benefit of a doubt, saying that maybe Ted wasn't the greatest father. Well, his other kids have turned out just fine (Claudia, the youngest, in particular). And even if Teddy wasn't the best father, JHW is 34 years old. Get yourself into therapy and grow up, pal.

Ted's life had a rather sad, undignified end, thanks both to his declining health and to JHW's manipulative involvement.

A couple of interesting stories in today's Boston Globe; some deep background on Ted's youth in California, and his Mexican heritage; some deep doo-doo on his son's shameful shenanigans.

UPDATE: John Henry and Claudia now claim to have a handwritten "document" that "proves" that Williams wanted to be "put into Bio-Status" (sic)

Reuters Story

[ July 25, 2002: Message edited by: Wurm ]

Hasn't there been all kinds of stories about how Ted Williams didn't actually sign any balls, bats, or other memorabilia in the last couple of years? I can't see this standing up in court.

The stories are all over the place. Some will tell you that John Henry Williams forced his father to work like a sweatshop laborer, up to 70 hours a week signing memorabilia, even while the old man's health was in decline. I did hear a fairly reputable former Sox player say that he saw JHW forge his father's signature, and it was so good that even a handwriting expert couldn't tell the difference.

I have no idea what's going on or what to believe. I do know that the value of Ted Williams memorabilia has plummeted ever since these crazy stories started circulating. The whole cryogenics/selling daddy's DNA thing has turned people off so much that there's not a whole lot of demand for Teddy Ballgame's autograph. Gee, this might mean that John Henry Williams might actually have to work for the first time in his life, instead of milking daddy's name like some cash cow. Join the rest of the human race, you lazy douchebag.

I don't know what the story is with Claudia. She seemed to be fairly decent and normal, and unlike her brother, fairly averse to cashing in on her father's name or using it to for any selfish gain. A couple of uncontested facts (court & police records to provie it) are that when she previously had some kind of dispute with her brother John Henry, not only did he sue her in court, he vandalized her car to the tune of $2000 damage. So whether she's going along with all this cryogenics craziness out of greed (**selling** Ted Williams' DNA? eesh!), her own nuttiness, or fear of her lunatic brother, I have no idea.