People: Oct. 31, 1969

His power at the plate won him six American League batting titles, while his unruly temper earned him the sobriquet "Terrible Ted." Returning to baseball this season as manager of the Washington Senators, Ted Williams set out to prove that "doing very little for eight years except fishing" had dulled none of his baseball dazzle. He was right. The Senators posted their first winning season in 17 years to finish fourth in division standings. For that, the Associated Press voted him American League Manager of the Year. Told the news by telephone, Williams was nonplussed. "I'm flabbergasted," he said.

Happy birthday telegrams and letters poured in by the bagful. But at 88, Pablo Picasso remained in seclusion at his villa near Cannes on the French Riviera, granting no interviews and seeing only a few carefully chosen friends. The most that newsmen and well-wishers could hope for was to hear Picasso himself answer the phone and in his distinctive voice announce: "Monsieur et Madame ne sont pas ici . . . " Click.

Republican eyebrows rose when Gerry Van der Heuvel, a journalist and close friend of the Hubert Humphreys, was named Pat Nixon's press secretary. Her former colleagues were even more distressed when press releases were late and uninformative. Now Gerry is moving to Rome as special assistant to U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin. In her place the First Lady has named Connie Stuart, a pert redhead who at 31 is one of the youngest ever to handle the White House job. Connie met the Nixons last year when her husband, also a presidential staffer, was doing yeoman campaign work around the country. But her appointment is no political payoff. After five years' experience in public relations with two New York firms, she seems well equipped to give the First Lady's image a face lift.

She already owns the 33-carat Krupp diamond, and assorted other baubles worth a fortune. Still, here was a rock to outshine them all: a flawless, pure white, 69-carat diamond, set in a ring that an anonymous owner had put up for bids at Manhattan's Parke-Bernet Galleries. Elizabeth Taylor wanted the jewel so badly that the Burtons' agent was willing to pay $1,000,000. Alas, that was not enough. The stone, which is as large as a peach pit, went for $1,050,000, making it the world's costliest single piece of jewelry ever auctioned. It was carried off by Cartier. But in the end, the lady had her way when Richard Burton bought the gem from Cartier. The price? Still a secret.