About

Gary Williams is the eldest of Cy and Vada Williams’ twelve grandchildren. He lived with them for three summers while he worked as a laborer/gofer on the crews for Cy’s design and construction company in order to earn money for college education. Gary and his wife, LuAnn, maintained a close relationship with Cy and Vada through the years until each departed this life. 

The author went on to be a trade association executive, earning the professional degree of CAE, and serving as the president of the Wisconsin Automobile and Truck Dealers Association for 36 years. He credits Cy and Vada as having a huge impact on his life and direction.

This biographical documentation follows the thrill and tribulations of Cy's life. It lays the groundwork for a cross-comparison of baseball back then compared to now, presenting unbiased information to allow readers to come to their own conclusions. 

As the eldest of six brothers, Gary felt a responsibility to document the history of Cy's career so that it may be passed down to future generations. He hopes others will find this information insightful and pertinent to understanding baseball as a whole.

However, the author admits that it really was others who cajoled and admonished him to get going on this writing. Whenever someone learned of Cy and all that he did, they were taken aback to hear that his story was never told. The pressure to write a book would come to bear. “If not you, who?” Bob Lang became the most insistent “prodder.”

Gary says, “So I researched, collected, wrote and revised. For six years.”

Note from the Author: I mention Bob Lang. Bob has held the position of Director of the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau for over three decades. There is no greater position of complexity and paramount importance in all state government public service. He is a mentor of legislators and staff, a true professional in every regard. I am pleased to give him this salute here. Bob is an enthusiastic fan of baseball.

There's much to ponder, project, and problem-solve when it comes to the future. In baseball, there's no glass looking-ball, just a red stitched leather Spalding. As our society advances, baseball must too. How can we recognize the lasting influence before we get too far ahead of ourselves?

Are the changes to benefit the fans or players or owners? How do you decipher who deserves to benefit? 

One could argue that a large component and thrill of baseball is stat comparison. Are we willing to dismantle the ability for accurate comparisons across the years? Are proposed changes necessary to keep pace with the modern world?  

As a long-time baseball fan himself, changes to the game have become increasingly noticeable. Some for the better and some, arguably, for the worse. The length of a game, for example, has reached a point where Gary, as a retired person, even has a hard time finding the time to watch games given their lengthiness. It led him to question whether this affects other fans as well. Further, could this play a role in our ability to forecast what the game, and the role of fans, might look like in the future?

Might younger fans be interested in 'the experience' of going to a game? If they are less likely to watch every game at home, in part due to the abundance of streaming options, the length of the game doesn't play as large of a role and actually benefits the experience seekers. In a multi-tasking world, has it become more common to have a game on in the background?

Do you think the progression of baseball needs a day of reckoning? 

What can we draw from the way the game was played originally?