In one of the definitive biographies on Williams, author Evan Thomas wrote: "Because of his connections and his vast store of inside knowledge, some observers speculated that he was Deep Throat, the legendary source for Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the resourceful Post reporters who broke the story tying the White House to the break-in." It was later revealed that the anonymous source known as Deep Throat was FBI associate director Mark Felt.
Professional sports
Williams entered the world of professional sports as a lawyer for Washington Redskins founding owner George Preston Marshall in the late-1950s. He ascended the administrative ranks by purchasing a five percent share in the franchise in March 1962 and succeeding the ailing Marshall as team president in charge of daily operations three years later in 1965. Williams spent heavily on appointing high-profile coaches and general managers, beginning with Otto Graham in 1966 and continuing with Vince Lombardi in 1969, George Allen in 1971 and Bobby Beathard in 1978. A defeat in Super Bowl VII was the farthest the Redskins ever advanced in any of the seasons under Williams' watch. He relinquished control of the ballclub in 1980 and sold his minority ownership interest five years later in 1985, in both cases to Jack Kent Cooke who had been the team's majority owner since 1974. When Williams purchased the Orioles from Jerold Hoffberger for $12 million on August 2, 1979, many feared he would move the team to Washington. Baltimore had previously lost the Baltimore Bullets to Washington. The fear of Williams moving the team increased with the 1984 departure of the Baltimore Colts. However, Williams never moved the team. More importantly, Williams signed a new long term lease with Baltimore that would pay for a new stadium, which would become Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He would not live to see the new ballpark. The Orioles were sold by Williams' wife Agnes to Eli Jacobs, Larry Lucchino and Sargent and Bobby Shriver for $70 million on December 5, 1988, just under four months after his death.
Among Williams' many real estate holdings was the Jefferson Hotel, a 98-room luxury hotel located near the White House and favored by many sport and political figures in the 1980s/1990s.
Death/funeral
Williams died at Georgetown University Hospital, aged 68, on August 13, 1988, after a 12-year battle with coloncancer. His funeral was attended by most of Washington's power elite, including then-Vice President George H. W. Bush. His body was buried in St. Gabriel Cemetery in Potomac, Maryland. In a final testament to Williams’ reach and influence, his funeral was attended by an exceptionally wide range of the famous and infamous, including Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, and Michael Milken. In the words of biographer Evan Thomas, “over two thousand mourners had gathered, filling the immense nave and spilling out onto the street which was lined with black limousines. Senators and Supreme Court justices, felons and bookmakers, waiters and doormen, billionaires, professional ball players, and Georgetown society jammed under the domed ceiling to sit before the plain mahogany casket.”
Honors
The Edward Bennett Williams Law Library at Georgetown University Law Center is named in his honor. The senior apartments residence hall at the College of the Holy Cross is also named in his honor.
Family
Edward Bennett Williams married Dorothy Guider in 1949. They had three children: Joseph, Ellen, and Bennett. Guider died in 1959. In June 1960, Williams married Agnes Neill and had four children: Edward, Dana, Anthony, and Kimberly. Agnes Neill Williams worked as an attorney for the Williams & Connolly law firm and served on the Board of Advisors of the Georgetown Center for Liturgy. She died on March 4, 2020.
