INVERNESS, Fla. (AP) – The son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams is battling leukemia.

John Henry Williams, 35, told the Citrus County Chronicle on Thursday that he was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia earlier this month at UCLA Medical Center.

He told the newspaper that he has already started chemotherapy.

“The whole goal is get the leukemia in remission,” Williams said from Los Angeles.

Attempts made by The Associated Press to reach Williams were unsuccessful.

After his father died July 5, 2002, John Henry Williams was at the center of a controversy surrounding his father’s remains. Williams had his father’s body taken to an Arizona cryonics lab for freezing, setting off a battle with his half-sister, who said her father had wanted to be cremated.

The matter was settled last December, when Bobby Jo Ferrell, Ted Williams’ oldest daughter, dropped her objections.

John Henry Williams’ other sister, Claudia Williams, told the newspaper she is in Los Angeles for tests to determine if she is a match for a possible bone marrow transplant.

“It’s not good, not good at all, considering his age,” Claudia Williams said.

About 10,500 new cases of acute myelogenous leukemia are diagnosed each year in the United States, with remission occurring in 70-80 percent of those patients.

Ted Williams finished with a .344 career average and was the last major league to bat over .400, when he hit .406 in 1941.

John Henry Williams made an attempt over the past two seasons to follow in his father’s footsteps, playing for some low-level minor league and independent baseball teams.

AP-ES-10-16-03 2006EDT