Before Satchel Paige there was Smokey Joe Williams. The right-handed throwing Williams, also known as “Cyclone,” threw his fastball as hard as Paige, lied about his age nearly as often as Paige, and beat out Paige in the famous 1952 Pittsburgh Courier Poll as the greatest pitcher in Negro League history.
Williams was born in Seguin, Texas in 1886 to an African-American father and Comanche Indian mother, and he started his professional career with the San Antonio Black Aces in 1905, the year before Paige was born (maybe). Williams registered pitching records of 28-4, 15-9, 20-8, 20-2 and 32-8 in his five seasons with the Aces and was a Texas legend.
Williams was about the same height as Paige, standing about six-foot-four, weighed about 220 pounds in his prime, and had an absolutely blazing fastball, which was described in a hundred ways, including: “It was like a pebble in a windstorm,” “It looked like an aspirin tablet with a tail on it,” and “it almost caught fire as it hummed toward the plate.” Williams was also known to use an emery board on the baseball when the situation required it!
Williams, unlike Paige, was a solid hitter, batting close to .300 lifetime, and if a pitcher threw a pitch where he was swinging he was capable of hitting homeruns out of any park.
In 1910, Williams played with the Chicago Giants, and in 1911 he joined the New York Lincoln Giants, one of the most powerful teams of the era, and drew nationwide attention by beating the great Rube Foster. Williams was highly respected for his playing and knowledge of the game, and was New York’s player-manager from 1914-1923. During this period Williams was one of the best known black athletes in the country, and, according to Negro League catcher Josh Johnson, was idolized by most black youngsters.
“Everyone wanted to be Joe Williams on the sandlot,” explained Johnson. “We argued about who could ‘be’ Smokey Joe!”
In his prime, never mind winning 20 games–Williams often won 40! And, like Nolan Ryan, he was always capable of throwing a no-hitter every time he took the mound.
Williams had hundreds of memorable games during his career, and one of his greatest came in 1924 when he faced the famous semipro Brooklyn Bushwicks at Dexter Park a week before he turned 38. Williams entered the game in the first inning when starting pitcher Pud Flourney ran into trouble, and Cyclone struck out 11 of the first 12 batters he faced. The game went 12 innings, with Williams striking out 25, though the Bushwicks won, 4-3, on a pair of bloop singles in the 12th.
In 1926, Williams joined the Homestead Grays, and stayed with them until he retired in 1932. In 1929, Williams threw one of his many lifetime no-hitters, this one against the General Tires team of Akron, Ohio, featuring many Major and Minor League players.
In 1930, the 44-year-old Williams allowed one hit and struck out 27 Kansas City Monarchs in a 1-0, 12-inning win, besting Chet Brewer who struck out 19. That same season he beat 24-year-old Satchel Paige, 1-0, in their only meeting ever against each other.
In his career, Williams won 20 of 27 games against Major Leaguers in exhibitions and his pitching victims included Grover Cleveland Alexander, Rube Marquard, Waite Hoyt, Chief Bender and Walter Johnson, all Hall of Famers.
In 1931, the Grays fielded what is considered by many to be the greatest black team in history, and Williams led a pitching staff that included Willie Foster, Double Duty Radcliffe, Lefty Williams, Porter Charleston and George “Chippy” Britt. The Grays won 136 of 155 games and capped the season by demolishing a Major League All-Star team by scores of 10-7 and 18-0.
“[Williams] was over 50 but could still throw 100 miles an hour,” recalled Double Duty Radcliffe, “I had to put a beefsteak in my glove when I caught him.”
Grays’ owner Cum Posey named Williams to his post season all-star team after the ’31 season, on a pitching staff with Radcliffe, Foster, Satchel Paige, Sam Streeter, Charles Beverly and Pud Flourney, all of whom were at least 15 years Williams’ junior.
After retiring from baseball, Williams tended bar in Harlem, and is often credited with recommending Brooklyn Royal Giants first baseman Buck Leonard to the Homestead Grays.
Williams was honored at New York’s Polo Grounds in 1950 where he played many games while with the Lincoln Giants, and he passed away a year later at age 64. In 1999, Williams was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In the book “Only the Ball was White” by Robert Peterson, infielder Bill Yancey insisted that Negro League teams were every bit as good as those in the Majors, explaining, “With Smokey Joe Williams or Cannonball Dick Redding or Phil Cockrell or Nip Winters pitching we could beat anybody!”
