John Henry Williams, the son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams, died Sunday morning. He was 35.
Williams was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in October. He underwent chemotherapy for several weeks, but his condition did not improve. He then underwent a bone marrow transplant. His younger sister, Claudia, was the donor, according to his friends and associates.
Ted Williams' brother died of leukemia when he was in his 40s.
John Henry tried his hand at professional baseball in summer 2002 with a low-level Sox minor league team, but his attempt ended after two games when he crashed into a camera well and fractured a rib. He tried to revive his career in the independent leagues, but many baseball experts believed he started his career too late.
After Ted Williams died July 5, 2002, John Henry Williams was at the center of a controversy surrounding his father's remains. Williams had his father's body taken to an Arizona cryonics lab, setting off a battle with his half-sister, who said her father had wanted to be cremated.
The matter was settled in December, when Bobby Jo Ferrell, Ted Williams' oldest daughter, dropped her objections.
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.
Ted Williams finished with a .344 career average and was the last major league to bat over .400, when he hit .406 in 1941.
