Inductees

Tammy Williams was a bit confused when she first arrived in Evanston, Ill., from Missouri, and visited the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago for the first time.

“My college roommate, Jessica Rigas, always laughs that I didn’t understand why they would ever have cows in the zoo in Chicago,” Williams said.

Hailing from tiny Osceola, cows were practically an everyday part of life for Williams. But so were sports, especially softball.

She played everything at Osceola, earning 12 total letters in her high school career. In softball she was a four-time team MVP, leading the Lady Indians in batting average, earned run average and fielding percentage all four seasons.

But as good as she was at Osceola, she took her game to another level at Northwestern, becoming the first four-time All-American in program history. The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year helped lead the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series in 2006 and 2007. On top of that, she also played for Team USA and spent seven seasons playing professionally with the Chicago Bandits.

For her softball accomplishments, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inducted Williams with the Class of 2024.

Growing up in Osceola, the St. Louis Cardinals and Ozzie Smith were never far from her mind. Her dad loved baseball and softball, and so that meant the younger Williams loved them, too.

“It became a part of who I was,” she said. “I would watch Cardinals games and always tell my dad that one day I wanted to play for them, just like Ozzie Smith did.”

With softball as her best sport, she knew she needed to be seen outside of southwest Missouri if she was going to get greater exposure. So, like many high school athletes, she turned to travel ball.

“This was really the opportunity to get in front of college coaches and have a chance to be recruited,” Williams said.

Mostly a pitcher at Osceola, Willliams had offers from only a few local schools until one day in the summer of 2005 Northwestern head coach Kate Drohan saw her play.

“Kate watched me play two games, I never got a hit, but apparently, I ran really hard and had good timing – or so she tells me,” Williams said.

“From there, the rest is history.”It’s a long way from Osceola, Mo., to Evanston, Ill., but it didn’t take long for Williams to fit in with the Wildcats.“It felt like home from the moment I stepped on campus,” she said. “For me, the adjustment was a pivotal point in my life, and made me the person that I am today.”

Along with the adjustment to being far from home was an adjustment to a new position – shortstop.

“I realized very quickly that Kate had recruited me to play shortstop, which I had not played since coach pitch,” Williams said. “In order for our team to reach its full potential, I needed to figure it out, and within about a six-month period.”

And figure it out she did, earning third-team All-America and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors as Northwestern reached the finals of the Women’s College World Series.

More success followed for Williams over the next three years, and she finished her career as Northwestern’s all-time leader in batting average (.419), hits (310), home runs (57) and total bases (540).

Williams is quick to deflect credit for Northwestern’s success during her time in Evanston.

“What made us so successful wasn’t an individual athlete – lots of teams have really talented players – what made us successful was the team culture,” she said. “The team culture was empowering, kind, empathetic, and extremely competitive. Every single time we showed up, we showed up to win a National Championship in whatever role Kate asked us to play.”

Obviously, Drohan played a pivotal role in Williams’ growth as a player and person.

“She gave me the opportunity to play for one of the best programs in the country and attend one of the top universities,” Williams said. “Kate is an absolutely incredible softball coach, but Kate’s leadership, mentorship, and friendship is even more important to me.”

And now she’ll take her place amongst the finest athletes in Missouri history.

“I am incredibly honored, and humbled, and excited to be able to celebrate this with so many people from my past.” Williams said. “I hope that my induction will inspire other young athletes to dream big and know that anything is possible.”