John Henry Williams, son of Red Sox great, dies at 35

BOSTON (AP) _ John Henry Williams, the son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams who pushed to have his father's body frozen, died late Saturday of leukemia in a hospital in Los Angeles, an attorney for Ted

Monday, March 8th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BOSTON (AP) _ John Henry Williams, the son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams who pushed to have his father's body frozen, died late Saturday of leukemia in a hospital in Los Angeles, an attorney for Ted Williams' family said. He was 35.

Peter Sutton said Williams died at UCLA Medical Center with family members at his bedside. Sutton said John Henry Williams' sister, Claudia Williams, and attorney, Eric Abel, informed him of the death by phone.

Williams had been battling leukemia for months. In December, he had a bone marrow transplant, using a donation from Claudia, his youngest sister.

``On behalf of all of us with the Boston Red Sox, we extend our condolences to the John Henry Williams family,'' Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry said. ``Perhaps no person meant more to the history of the Boston Red Sox than did his father, and it was clear that his father's life and legacy were the focal point of John Henry Williams' life.

``It is particularly sad that leukemia claimed his life, for his father was a pioneer in the development of the Jimmy Fund, which has made such remarkable progress in the fight against cancer.''

Ted Williams' brother, Danny Williams, also died of leukemia, at the age of 39.

After Ted Williams died in July 2002, John Henry Williams had his father's body taken to an Arizona cryonics lab for freezing. He and Claudia Williams said they signed a handwritten pact with their father in 2000 agreeing their bodies would be frozen.

They were sued by their half-sister, Bobby-Jo Ferrell, who insisted Ted Williams wanted to be cremated. Ferrell dropped her objections in December 2002.

Ted Williams finished with a .344 career average and was the last major leaguer to bat over .400, when he hit .406 in 1941.

John Henry Williams made an attempt in the past two seasons to follow in his father's footsteps, playing for some low-level minor league and independent baseball teams.

Williams said in October that he had been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia that month at UCLA Medical Center. He said at the time that he had already started chemotherapy.

About 10,500 new cases of acute myelogenous leukemia are diagnosed each year in the United States, with remission occurring in 70-80 percent of those patients.

A spokeswoman at UCLA Medical Center could not immediately confirm whether John Henry Williams was a patient there.

Sutton, the Williams family lawyer, declined comment when asked if John Henry Williams had still intended to pursue cryonics for himself. A message left for Joe Waynick, the CEO of Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz., was not immediately returned. Alcor reportedly has Ted Williams' body, although the company has not confirmed that.

A phone number for Claudia Williams could not be located. A message left at a listing for Abel in Hernando, Fla., was not immediately returned.