Byline: G. Wayne Miller

PROVIDENCE, R. I. _ Ted Williams was feeling ill, and his difficult breathing concerned his caregivers. The 83-year-old baseball great had a history of heart disease, and out of an abundance of caution, an ambulance was called to his home in Hernando, Fla. It was Friday morning, July 5.

The ambulance took Williams to Citrus Memorial Hospital, some five miles away. Williams was barely inside the door when his heart sputtered and stopped. The doctors could not get it beating again _ and at 8:49 a.m., the legendary Boston Red Sox star was pronounced legally dead.

Time was of the essence now.

For Williams did not want to pass on in the ...