Freddie "Fearless" Sidney Williams (28 October 1942 – 21 June 2008) was a Scottish businessman, gambler and bookmaker. Born in the Ayrshire mining village of Cumnock, he was spared a career as a miner due to ill health at the age of 15 and went on to work for local soft drinks company Currie's of Auchinleck. Following a successful management buyout, and subsequent sale, Williams became a millionaire.
It was at Currie's that he first took to gambling. For years he was a boomaker's-runner, before taking up his first bookmaking pitch at Auchinleck Greyhound Stadium.
In 1974 Williams bought his first horseracing bookmaking pitch at Ayr Racecourse. He subsequently went on to purchase pitches, including Irvine Racecourse, Hamilton Park Racecourse, Musselburgh Racecourse, Perth Racecourse and Cheltenham Racecourse. He also owned a pitch at Shawfield Stadium in Glasgow. At the time of his death, Williams owned a total of 11 pitches.
As business grew, Freddie Williams Bookmakers expanded to a chain of seven bookmaking shops.[1] As of June 2008, this had been slimmed down to two, one in either of his hometowns, Cumnock and Auchinleck.