Phil Williams: Douglas County/Landmark Christian
Williams was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2022.
Carl Roland knew that every time he saw Phil Williams, he was going to hear about one game in particular when the two coaches used to coach baseball against each other nearly four decades ago.
“He tells everybody this story,” the late McEachern High School coach said of his Douglas County High rival. “Back in the mid 80s, they were hitting balls all over the place and over the fence and beating us 9-2. So over the next four or five innings, we had everybody bunt and they had trouble fielding bunts and throwing us out. I don’t think we hit two balls out of the infield, but we ended up coming back and beating them 11-9.”
Roland said it was one of the few times an opposing coach ended up on top of a Williams-coached team.
Williams was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022.
The longtime Douglas County High and Landmark Christian coach made his mark both as a head baseball coach and a head football coach. But he said it was baseball that got him into coaching.
In 27 years of coaching baseball, Williams compiled an overall record of 437-286-3. His teams recorded seven region titles and his 2008 and 2009 squads at Landmark Christian finished as the Class 1A state runner-up. He was named Region Coach of the Year five times and named state Coach of the Year three times by the Georgia Dugout Club. On two occasions, he was chosen to coach in the Georgia Dugout Club’s Senior All-State Games.
His resume also includes several football honors as both a head coach and an assistant coach.
He retired from coaching baseball in 2013.
Getting inducted into the GDC Hall of Fame caught him off-guard a little.
“I really hadn’t thought about it a lot until it happened,” Williams said. “I’m grateful they didn’t forget about me, and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
David McDonald, the Executive Director of the Georgia Dugout Club, also coached against Williams. He said Williams probably could have had more titles but only one team from each region advanced to the postseason back then.
“Phil always had some great teams back when he was at Douglas County,” said McDonald, the former Wheeler High coach also in the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame.
“His teams were always very competitive and his players always played the game at a high level. No matter if they had a good record or not, you knew you were always going to get their best shot.”
Williams’ career includes coaching at Douglas County, Lithia Springs and back to Douglas County before spending his final seven seasons at Landmark Christian. He played professional baseball in Italy for eight months and also went to spring training with the Montreal Expos in 1975.
‘People used to always ask me which sport I liked the best,” Williams said. “Playing baseball is what I knew the best.”
And he has the resume to prove it.