Claude Preston "Lefty" Williams (March 9, 1893 - November 4, 1959) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 World Series fix, better known as the Black Sox scandal. Williams was born in Aurora, Missouri to William and Mary Williams. He began his major league career on September 17, 1913 with the Detroit Tigers. Although Williams only received $5,000, half of what he was promised, that was still almost double his 1919 salary of $2,600.