World Series-winning brothers: Willson and William Contreras join rare MLB family club

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

William Contreras has joined an exclusive World Series family club that only existed because of his older brother, Willson Contreras, according to information compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau and published by Major League Baseball. The list tracks sets of brothers who played on championship-winning teams in the World Series, dating back to the first Fall Classic in 1903, and it highlights that William’s path to the championship roster depended on his big brother’s prior title experience and on his own eligibility to appear in the Series.

In the most recent chapter, Willson and William Contreras are identified as the latest brothers to reach the group. Willson Contreras won a World Series with the 2016 Chicago Cubs, while William Contreras won with the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers. The Elias-backed summary also notes a technicality that previously kept the brothers off the list: William had played for the 2021 Atlanta Braves but did not appear in the World Series that year, which meant he could not qualify for this particular sibling championship record until 2026.

The Brewers’ title run in 2026 is tied directly to William Contreras’ World Series participation. The league’s Elias-based information states that William started all five games behind the plate against the Rays and went 8-for-21 with a double and four RBIs, earning World Series MVP honors. The same account says the win ended a 57-year run without a Brewers championship. It also frames Willson’s 2016 Cubs championship as the earlier milestone that enabled the brothers to become the newest matching pair on the World Series-winning sibling list.

The Elias Sports Bureau list also includes other sibling combinations that won championships in different years. J.D. Drew and Stephen Drew are named, with J.D. winning the 2007 World Series with the Boston Red Sox and Stephen winning the 2013 World Series with the Red Sox. The source’s compilation specifies that Tim Drew, Stephen’s and J.D.’s brother and a pitcher, did not win World Series titles, but it places him in the family history that preceded both postseason championships.

Bengie Molina, José Molina and Yadier Molina are presented as a distinctive case: the only brothers trio in the record to have won World Series titles. The information says Bengie and José each won with the 2002 Anaheim Angels, with José later winning an additional ring with the 2009 New York Yankees. Yadier Molina is noted as winning World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and 2011, and the Elias-based summary identifies the three Molina brothers’ careers as primarily behind the plate.

The Hernàndez brothers also appear as rapid championship winners. Liván Hernàndez is listed with the 1997 Florida Marlins, where he is identified as a World Series MVP in the compilation. Orlando Hernàndez is shown as a multi-team winner, with World Series titles connected to the Yankees in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and the Chicago White Sox in 2005, as reflected in the source’s team-by-team listing. Both brothers are described as starting pitchers within the league’s summary.

Jesús Alou and Matty Alou are included as another sibling pair tied to the Oakland A’s. The Elias-based account lists Matty as a member of the 1972 A’s championship team after being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals in late August 1972, and it lists Jesús as winning with the A’s in 1973 and 1974 after being traded from the Houston Astros in July 1973. The source also notes that Felipe Alou—described as the oldest brother—never won a World Series, while tying the broader Alou family name to baseball history.

Clete Boyer and Ken Boyer are identified next, with their titles separated by two years. The compilation credits Clete Boyer with World Series wins as part of the 1961 and 1962 New York Yankees, and it credits Ken Boyer with a World Series title with the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals. Cloyd Boyer is mentioned in the source as an older brother to both Ken and Clete who played in MLB but did not win a ring, while the account adds that Clete and Cloyd briefly joined forces on the 1955 Kansas City A’s.

The Walker brothers—Gee Walker and Hub Walker—are shown as an earlier example of siblings reaching the World Series winner’s circle. Gee Walker is listed with the 1935 Detroit Tigers, and the Elias-based summary notes he won his lone World Series with Detroit in that season. Hub Walker is described as having played for part of 1935 with the Tigers, but the compilation specifies he did not appear in the World Series then; it later notes his return to Detroit and identifies him as having been part of Detroit’s 1945 World Series championship team, including two at-bats with a double.

The Cooper brothers are described by the league as the only brother pair to win multiple World Series titles as teammates. Mort and Walker Cooper are both linked to the St. Louis Cardinals for the 1942 and 1944 World Series, with the source specifying their positions as a pitcher (Mort) and catcher (Walker). The compilation ties the Cardinals’ 1942 World Series run to Mort Cooper’s NL MVP Award-winning season, while it attributes the brothers’ second championship ring in 1944 to their shared team success.

Dizzy Dean and Paul Dean are highlighted as the first sibling pair in the record to win World Series titles as Cardinals teammates. The Elias-backed compilation lists Dizzy Dean as an NL MVP in 1934, credited with helping the Cardinals win the World Series, and it also credits Paul Dean with being part of the same 1934 championship team. The source states that Paul Dean pitched 18 innings in the 1934 Fall Classic and allowed two earned runs for a 1.00 ERA.

Finally, the list reaches back to the early modern World Series era with Irish Meusel and Bob Meusel. The compilation assigns Irish Meusel World Series wins with the New York Giants in 1921 and 1922, and it assigns Bob Meusel World Series championships with the Yankees beginning in 1923 and continuing through 1927 and 1928. The source ties Bob Meusel to a prominent Yankees lineup in the “Murderers’ Row” era and credits both brothers with championship success in the World Series, completing the historical range of the sibling club.

With William Contreras’ World Series MVP performance in 2026 and Willson Contreras’ earlier Cubs championship, the source describes the Contreras brothers as the newest addition to a record that tracks only those sibling sets—just ten overall sets, including one trio—that have reached the World Series on a championship-winning roster. In the Elias-backed framing, the list’s key qualifier remains straightforward: the brothers must both be World Series winners, and William’s 2026 appearance completed the eligibility that had not been met during the 2021 World Series.

Eligible research gap: The provided source explains the Elias Sports Bureau list and gives the names, teams, and title years, but it does not reproduce the entire ten sets in a single contiguous table beyond the brother pairs and trio described in the text. If you need the complete list exactly as Elias published it, additional primary confirmation from the Elias compilation would be required beyond what appears in the supplied excerpt.