William David Mullins (August 13, 1931 – March 2, 1986) was an American politician, educator, and professional baseball player who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 1986. A member of the Democratic Party, Mullins represented Ludlow and parts of Chicopee in the legislature.
After graduating from Providence College in 1953, Mullins signed with the Washington Senators as a pitcher, playing in their minor league farm system. However, due to poor performances and a series of injuries, Mullins had retired from professional baseball by 1957. After moving to the town of Ludlow the following year, Mullins became a teacher at the local high school, and he and his wife established a school for aphasiacs. Mullins was elected to the Ludlow board of selectmen in 1968, serving until his election to the state house in 1976.
Mullins was a very conservative Democrat, holding strong positions against abortion and gay rights. Despite his credentials as a "hard-nosed fiscal conservative", Mullins used his position in the legislature to advocate for local aid to many of the small cities and towns outside the Boston area. In 1985, Mullins was appointed vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a powerful position which allowed him to control all spending legislation in the House. By the end of his tenure, Mullins was described as being "one of Western Massachusetts's most powerful legislators".
The William D. Mullins Memorial Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst opened in 1993, and was dedicated to Mullins for his support of the UMass athletics program in the legislature.
Early life and education William David Mullins was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 13, 1931, to Francis and Mary Vail Mullins. His father was a local attorney, while his uncle William E. Mullins was a longtime columnist for the Boston Herald.
Mullins attended Saint Stephen's High School in Worcester, where he played both basketball and baseball. Mullins was described as being "an outstanding basketball player, a strong defensive rebounder with a soft hook shot". In baseball, Mullins was a right-handed pitcher, and his fastball hit 90 miles per hour. Mullins was also physically large: standing at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing around 200 pounds, he was described as "big and burly".
After graduating high school in 1949, Mullins attended Providence College, having received an athletic scholarship to play on the baseball team. While at Providence College, Mullins was described as being "one of the top college pitchers in New England". In a 1953 game against a dominant University of Connecticut team, Mullins gave up just five hits while netting eight strikeouts; the Hartford Courant reported that he had a "dazzling curveball". In a 1952 game against Bates College, Mullins threw 17 strikeouts.
Mullins graduated from Providence College in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in economics. At some point, he also attended graduate school at American International College and Westfield State University.
Professional baseball career
1953 season After graduating from Providence College, Mullins was expected to sign with the Cincinnati Reds, who had offered him a $15,000 contract. Mullins had also fielded an offer from the Cleveland Indians. However, Mullins ultimately signed a $6,000 contract with the Washington Senators in 1953 after being scouted by Ossie Bluege and Bill Lefebvre.
Nicknamed Moon Mullins during his baseball career, Mullins played in the Senators' farm system in the minor leagues. In summer 1953, Mullins joined the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Senators' affiliate team in Class AA. His professional debut was on July 19, 1953, in which he was called up as a relief pitcher in the fifth inning of a match against the Birmingham Barons. Mullins ended the 1953 season with a 1–1 game record and an 8.25 ERA.
1954 season Mullins played with the Lookouts during the 1954 spring training, but struggled to perform. During an exhibition game against the Hagerstown Owls, Mullins gave up five runs across three innings; in another match against the Barons, he gave up two runs in three innings. On March 28, 1954, Mullins was given on option to the Charlotte Hornets, the Class A affiliate of the Senators. The Charlotte Observer described the acquisition of Mullins as being "a prize catch", and he was considered to be the "hottest cookie" in the Hornets roster. Hornets manager Pete Appleton stated that Mullins had a "very good future as a pitcher". In April, Mullins pitched for three innings during an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, holding the Yankees to just one hit and no runs.
At the beginning of the 1954 season, Mullins had strong performances with the Hornets. In one game against the "powerful" Jacksonville Braves, Mullins managed eight scoreless innings; in another game against the Braves, he gave up just one run and five hits across eight innings. However, his performance decreased as the season progressed due to a lack of confidence, and he began clashing with Appleton. Mullins was ultimately sent down to the Rock Hill Chiefs in Class B on May 24, 1954, where his confidence further decreased. Mullins ended the 1954 season with a combined 5–16 record and a 4.58 ERA.
Military service and 1957 season In late 1954, Mullins enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed in West Germany. He continued to play baseball in the army leagues, practicing new techniques with the hope to "atone for the mess [he] made in '54". Mullins left the army in early 1957 and was invited to the Lookouts spring training that year. By this point, his baseball career was practically over: "few people even know he's around", and though Mullins had gained the confidence he previously lacked, he had sustained several injuries throughout his career which hampered his play.
While pitching the first inning of an exhibition match, Mullins badly hurt his right shoulder and had to leave the game. His arm did not respond to treatment, and he was sent back to the Hornets by the end of March. Hornets manager Gene Verble admitted that it appeared there was something badly wrong with Mullins's shoulder. Mullins played one game for the Hornets before being placed on their disabled list in April. In May 1957, Mullins briefly played for the Kinston Eagles/Wilson Tobs in Class B, pitching in his five final professional games.
Career in education Mullins returned to Massachusetts by 1958, moving to the town of Ludlow. He continued playing baseball in the Tri-County League, a local amateur baseball circuit. Mullins pitched for Six Corners AC in 1958, and later became manager of the Indian Orchard Merchants. During this period, Mullins also coached several American Legion baseball teams.
Mullins became a teacher at Ludlow High School in 1958, teaching history and government. He also became the high school's baseball coach in 1964.
In 1971, Mullins and his wife Kathleen established the Children's Language Institute, a Ludlow-based non-profit organization which teaches children who are language and learning disabled. They established the institute after their daughter was diagnosed with aphasia; the only options for therapy were either to send her to a boarding school in Kansas or to move the entire family to Boston so she could attend the Horace Mann School. Originally run out of a rented room at a social center, by 1982 the institute had grown to occupy an elementary school building, had an enrollment of 30 students from across Massachusetts, and maintained a staff of professional speech-language pathologists. Between its establishment in 1971 and a feature in The Boston Globe in 1982, the institute had taught a total of 87 students.
Political career Mullins's political career began in 1968, when he was elected to the Ludlow board of selectmen. Mullins ran for selectman because he "became fed up with the State passing laws telling Ludlow to do such and such", and he pledged himself to the principle of home rule, stating that "the closest government is the best government". During his tenure as selectman, Mullins led the creation of a zoning law which prevented abortion clinics from operating in Ludlow, and oversaw a proposal which would have seen the construction of a $100 million oil power plant in the town. Mullins served as chairman of the board of selectmen in 1974 and 1975.
Elections
In 1972, Mullins, a member of the Democratic Party, ran for the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Mullins ran in the 2nd Hampden district, a heavily Democratic district containing Ludlow and Chicopee ward 6. Mullins was defeated in the Democratic primary by incumbent representative Steve T. Chmura; Chmura received 3,227 votes, while Mullins received 2,260.
Mullins ran for the state house again in 1976, running against Chmura in a primary rematch. Mullins ran in the redistricted 20th Hampden district, which consisted of Ludlow, the Three Rivers precinct in Palmer, and Precinct 6C in Chicopee. Mullins defeated Chmura in the rematch, initially winning by 17 votes. A recount later placed the tally at 3,191 votes for Mullins and 3,185 votes for Chmura, a margin of just six votes. Chmura filed a legal petition to overturn the result, alleging that electoral irregularities in the Palmer precinct affected the outcome of the election. Specifically, Chmura alleged that two members of the Republican Party were allowed to vote in the Democratic primary and that eight Democratic voters were "disenfranchised". The latter claim stems from a handful of misprinted ballots which incorrectly displayed candidates from a neighboring district; these ballots were removed and handed to a police officer, after which Chmura alleges they went missing. The Massachusetts Supreme Court re-affirmed Mullins's victory on October 19, citing "insufficient grounds to overturn the result". Mullins faced no Republican opposition in the general election, and though Chmura ran a write-in campaign, Mullins won with 94% of the vote.
Prior to the 1978 election, Mullins was redistricted to the 7th Hampden district due to the House being downsized from 240 to 160 representatives. The new district comprised Chicopee wards 4, 5, and 6, as well as all of Ludlow. In the Democratic primary, Mullins faced Chicopee alderman Paul J. Demears. During the campaign, Demears stated that Chicopee should not be represented by someone from Ludlow, as the three Chicopee wards made up a majority of the district's population. Demears also strongly criticized Mullins for his vote in favor of binding arbitration for police and firefighters, and stated that Mullins was not interested in the plight of the district. However, a back injury prevented Demears from campaigning in Ludlow, which was a stronghold for Mullins. Mullins campaigned on a platform of lowering property taxes and increasing the legal drinking age. Mullins defeated Demears in the primary with 5,058 votes to 2,604.