In 1916, The Newspaper Enterprise Association ran a series of brief articles called “One Minute Talks with Ballplayers.”
Claude “Lefty” Williams, on his way to winning 13 games for the Chicago White Sox during his first full season as a major league pitcher, after two brief trials with the Detroit Tigers:
“The boy who enters baseball will never be a success until he takes the profession seriously. I learned my lesson (in 1913 and 1914) when I had my first chance in the majors. I had always regarded baseball as a game just for fun but Manager (Hughie) Jennings of the Detroit Tigers soon showed me the error of my way, by shipping me to the Salt Lake club of the Pacific Coast (League). Once in the minors I got wise to myself and determined to regain a big league job.
Lefty Williams
“I started in baseball as a pitcher for the school team at Springfield, MO., and though I was only a kid I was a pretty successful southpaw. Now that I am back in the majors I’m certainly going to work my head off to remain here.”
Williams won 33 games for the Salt Lake City Bees in 1915 which earned him his return to the major leagues. Williams, who vowed to “work my head off to remain here,” won 81 games over five seasons with the White Sox before being banned for his role in the Black Sox scandal.
Baseball History Daily 
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