DuraEdge Products announced the addition of Mike Williams taking over sales in Florida and the surrounding areas.
Growing up in Athens, Ohio, Williams began working on ballfields at the age of seven. In high school he helped prep the baseball field for games at Athens High School.
Williams stayed in Athens to study at Ohio University and walked onto the baseball team as a catcher. Following graduation, he became a graduate assistant for baseball in hopes of becoming a college baseball coach. Due to coaching limitations in the NCAA, Williams decided to take up groundskeeping.
“It hurt initially, but when I thought about it, I knew it was something I enjoyed and was good at,” Williams said. “Fast forward five years and I was the first Head Groundskeeper for the Tampa Bay Rays.”
Williams had his first pro job in 1993 and made it to the big leagues in 1998.
From there, he went to New York to work with the Mets at Shea Stadium. Following that job, he worked at Southern Athletic Fields from 2004-2005 before 13 seasons with the Yankees minor league affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina. He retired from groundskeeping full-time in 2018. Following his retirement, he worked for Beard Equipment Company, a John Deer dealer.