Williams, the last man to average .400 for a season, was pronounced dead on Friday after a succession of health problems.

The "Splendid Splinter" twice won the Triple Crown and averaged .344 with 521 home runs during a marvellous career.

But he had an uneasy relationship with some baseball fans, despite being lauded for his uncanny hitting ability.

How does Williams compare to baseball greats Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Ty Cobb?

A book (I believe it was 'Summer of '49') captured both the best and worst of Ted Williams at the same moment. It said a heckler was bothering him, and he responded by hitting the fan with a foul ball. It showed his rough relationship with the fans, and that he was psychologically capable of doing such at thing. At the same time, it displayed that he was physically capable of such a feat!
JD, USA

"Where have you gone Joe Di Maggio?" Paul Simon wrote. I can't help feeling the same about Ted Williams. In these times of labour disputes, contraction and million dollar salaries, Ted Williams shone as a beacon of hope to those who long for baseball to return as the national pastime. Let us hope that though his life his been extinguished the beacon still burns strong. Godspeed, Teddy Ballgame.
Geyv, UK

A hero not only in the game of baseball, but in the game of life. He selflessly took five seasons off during World War II and the Korean War- years during the prime of his storied career- to serve his country. He will be well and truly missed.
Trista, USA

I'm a long-suffering Boston Red Sox fan. It's a phenomenon laced both with tragedy and eternal optimism. In the legacy of the Red Sox, nobody exemplifies the brashness, ego and gosh-darn talent of Ted Williams.

I was seven when Ted Williams retired in 1960. By then, my father had taken my brother and me to see him at Boston's Fenway Park some five times. I wasn't there when, on his last time at bat, he hit a home run, but I had seen him only two weeks before. I realized then, that an era would soon pass. Williams, the greatest baseball hitter in history, would never be replaced. His spot at Fenway Park's short left field would never be occupied by another hero.

We were wrong, of course. I was in the stands the day when 21-year-old Carl Yazstremski replaced Williams at left field. While Yaz had a Hall of Fame career, and he provided untold pleasure (when anyone really cared about baseball) included playing in the greatest baseball game ever played - the 6th game of the 1975 World Series - he just wasn't Ted Williams.
Skip Singer, USA

All of Massachusetts will miss Ted Williams. My father used to go to Fenway Park and watch Ted Williams and the Red Sox stars of the 40's and 50's.

Later, Ted Williams and his wife used to shop at my father's supermarket, and Mr. Williams sent my father a letter, remarking that he always looked forward to home games in Boston, since he could enjoy such fine steaks and roasts from my father's supermarket. Where could you find such a gentleman athlete nowadays, who sends fan mail to his grocer?
Barbara Canary, Boston, MA

A sad day for Boston, baseball and America. The 'Splendid splinter' will live on in our memories as one of the greatest men ever to grace a ball field. The greatest hitter in the game will be sadly missed by everyone who loves the game.
Scott, Scotland

I was at Fenway last night for the ballgame. They played Taps at the beginning of the game. It was an understated but very moving ceremony, appropriate for a no-fuss ballplayer, who was a true hero.

My father is a life-long Sox fan. I took him to the game last Friday night when he was visiting from New York. I wish he could have been with me last night - it would have meant a lot to him.
Mike Fisher, Boston US

The kid will be missed. Such ability and drive are rare indeed. Good bye, Mr. Williams.
Bruce Townley, USA

We tend to throw the around the term 'Hero' very regularly in the sports world. Not only did Mr. Williams act professionally on the field, but he also fought for his country in two wars. Ted Williams is a true 'Hero'.
Louis, USA

Sorry to hear of the death of a Red Sox's great from a life long Yankees fan.
Ray McCarthy, U.K.

Truly the greatest hitter that I ever saw....exemplary in his attitude and approach to the game...he simply loved it!!
RB Rooson, USA

One thing about Ted Williams that should be remembered, especially by people outside the US...when Williams was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY in 1966, he gave an acceptance speech.

Usually, athletes use this chance to pat themselves on the back and thank their family, friends and team mates. Williams did a little of that, and then said he hoped one day that the Hall of Fame would honour the African American players who starred in the Negro Leagues before Jackie Robinson entered major league baseball in 1947.

Within a few years, the Hall of Fame began inducting the great Negro League stars, such as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. It was a genuinely classy thing for Williams to have done.
Andrew M., USA

I grew up in a house where I was taught to revere Ted Williams. My father was a lifetime Yankees fan but he had very great admiration for Ted Williams.

I remember riding in a cab in Chicago about three years ago and talking to the cab driver, a black gentleman in what looked to be his seventies. He said his favourite ballplayer was Willie Mays but he said emphatically that he saw Williams play and that if anyone ever should tell me that there has ever been a better hitter then they just don't know what they are talking about. My father had said exactly the same thing.

Williams was similar to Michael Jordan in a way. They both had supreme talent and supreme drive put together. It has been said that Ted Williams is the only man to have ever been the best at three things. For him it was hitting a baseball, catching fish (he is a member of the fly-fisherman's hall of fame) and flying a fighter jet (he was John Glenns' wingman during the Korean War). He is such an inspiring American icon.
Will McElgin, USA

He was a true man's man. Whether on the baseball field or battlefield, the Splendid Splinter shined - he was a true American hero.
John, USA

We have not only lost a baseball legend but a legendary competitor - I am 51-yrs-old and feel honoured that I got to see Ted Williams play when I was just a kid.
Glenn S. Segars, USA

'Teddy Ballgame' played the game the way it should be: pitcher verse hitter. We will never see the likes of him again. Above all, he was a Great American. Godspeed, Ted.
Katie, USA

I am 24-years-old and I have never seen him play in person but I have seen old reels of him playing ball, and he was the greatest player to ever play the sport. One of my colleagues who played in the majors played against Ted Williams and said Williams' heart was always in the game. You could tell he loved the sport. You could tell that he was not happy with criticism. But he wanted to prove a point. He proved a point not just in baseball but outside as well. He will be truly missed.

My prayers go out to Boston Red Socks' fans and organization, and the Williams' family.
CJ, USA

Ted Williams not John Wayne was the consummate American male. There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived. I tip my hat to you Teddy Ballgame.
Robert Reel, USA

Ted Williams was a product of his times: He never cared about how his image and didn't cultivate phony friendships with reporters. Instead he focused on the game, on the most difficult feat in sports, batting a pitched ball. He wanted to be the greatest hitter who ever lived. He was.
Brian Murphy, United States

So long Ted and God speed. As I sit here at my computer there is an 8x10 picture of you above my desk. It will remain there as long as I live and this fan will never forget that swing. Thanks for your service to our country in two wars but most of all thank you for being a hero to a 10 year old kid who needed a hero. You have remained my hero for half a century now and I for one will miss you. I always knew this would be a sad day, but I cannot help but feel that some important part of America is gone with your passing.
Joe McNair, USA

Truly one of the greatest men to ever grace the diamond. The passing of Ted Williams marks the end of a bygone era when the game was more important than profits. His death reminds us all what baseball once was and will never again be - a sport first, a business second.
Scott, UK

Teddy was way before my time, but my late father adored him and would go watch him play ball. The thing that my father admired - more than Ted's ability to whack the ball - was his willingness to serve his country.

Ted lost five seasons during his prime serving in the Air Force, yet still managed to put up Hall of Fame numbers. My father, like many other Red Sox fans, always (mentally) gave Ted the hits he would have had, had he not been in uniform, & thus proved him a much greater hitter than any other man who played the game.

Since my father, who spoke of him the way you would a comrade, although he only saw him from the stands, used to speak of him so warmly, Ted's passing is personally sad. And given the way baseball is heading in this country, maybe his passing is somewhat of an auger of things to come, as baseball sure isn't what it used to be, nor are its current crop of players, either.
Michael, USA

A true hero of the game and a man of honour. One of the greatest to ever play and the greatest hitter ever. He postponed his career in the prime of his life to join in two different wars! How many modern superstars would do this now? We shall miss you. A sad day in Boston today.
Irwin, USA