Friends Say Williams Suffered Minor Stroke

Former baseball star Ted Williams suffered a minor stroke recently but is recovering nicely, close friends said Thursday.

“In a general conversation I had with him yesterday, he said he had a little stroke,” said a friend, who asked not to be identified. “I asked him what the results were. He said, ‘It didn’t amount to anything.’

“He said he was going to have some treatment where they would open the artery. He had a clogged artery. He wasn’t concerned about it at all. Apparently he had no effect from it.”

The friend said he didn’t know exactly when Williams, 73, had suffered the stroke, but that it was more than a week ago.

Another friend, Florida Keys fishing guide George Hommell, said he had “heard through the grapevine” of Williams’ friends and associates that the Hall of Fame outfielder had suffered a stroke, but he hadn’t spoken to Williams himself.

Williams was in Boston on Dec. 20 for an appearance on behalf of the Jimmy Fund, a charity that benefits children’s cancer research.

Williams is the last major league player to bat over .400 in a season, finishing at .406 in 1941.