Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1990
On the playing field as a Deacon, Williams served as a catcher on the 1960, 1961 and 1962 Wake Forest baseball teams. His junior year he hit .308 in his finest year statistically and earned a brief career in professional baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Administration off the field would be his strength, though, and he quickly moved in that direction, advancing from the position of business manager on the Class A level to that of president and general manager of the Spartanburg Phillies just three years after earned his degree from Wake Forest.
In 1968, Williams left baseball to become business manager of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, beginning what became a marvelous career as one of the league's most respected teams.
Williams went on to become general manager of both the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks of the NBA before returning to the 76ers in the mid-1970s, where he rebuilt a struggling franchise into one of the league's finest. He constructed the team that won the NBA title in 1983.
He moved on to the Orlando Magic, a new franchise as the president and general manager, seeing them to the NBA Finals in 1995. Williams is currently the senior vice president for the Magic, which made the NBA Finals in 2009.
Off the court, Williams has written or contributed to 55 books.
