Robert Clinton Richardson Jr. (born August 19, 1935) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he formed a top double play combination with fellow Yankee infielders Clete Boyer and Tony Kubek. In the 1960 World Series he became the only World Series Most Valuable Player to be selected from the losing team. In 1962, he led the American League (AL) in hits with 209 and caught a line drive off the bat of Willie McCovey to win the 1962 World Series for the Yankees.

Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Richardson grew up desiring to play for the Yankees after seeing the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees. Drawing interest from 11 out of 16 MLB teams, he signed with the Yankees and made his debut for them two years later. Earning a regular spot on the roster in 1957, Richardson reached his first All-Star Game that year. He lost starts at second base to Gil McDougald later in the year, though, and was mostly a reserve player in 1958. It was not until 1959 that he would become a regular at second base. In 1960, he was named the World Series MVP; though the Yankees lost the Series in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Richardson batted .367 with 12 runs batted in (RBI). He won the next two World Series, ending the 1962 series by catching McCovey's line drive in what The Sporting News called baseball's 13th most memorable play in 1999. Richardson led the AL in hits that year, with 209.

From 1961 to 1965, Richardson won five straight Gold Glove Awards at second base. He played in the All-Star Game every year from 1962 through 1966. In 1963, he won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, and he played in the World Series in 1963 and 1964. His last two years in the major leagues, he had 164 and 153 hits, respectively. Though only 31 after the 1966 season, Richardson retired to spend more time with his family. The Yankees held a special day for him towards the end of the season, making Richardson the 10th Yankee to be so honored.

After his playing career, Richardson coached college teams for several years. He led the University of South Carolina to its first College World Series in 1975 and laid the groundwork for their later success. In 1986, he led Coastal Carolina University's baseball team to a Big South Conference championship, and he coached at Liberty University from 1987 through 1990. Richardson ran for the United States House of Representatives in South Carolina's 5th congressional district as a Republican in 1976 but lost to incumbent Kenneth Holland. A Christian, Richardson was involved in many Christian organizations during and after his career. He spoke at the White House in 1970 as a representative of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, appeared in five Billy Graham Crusades, and frequently speaks at churches and other organizations.

Early life

Richardson was the middle child of Robert Sr. and Debbie Richardson of Sumter, South Carolina. He had two sisters, Inez (older) and Willie Ann (younger).

Ever since seeing Pride of the Yankees, released in 1942, Richardson had dreamed of playing for the New York Yankees. Growing up, he practiced his baseball skills with Harry Stokes, a boy in his neighborhood seven years his senior who would play catch with him. Richardson played on a local YMCA/Salvation Army team at the age of ten. Later, he played on ballclubs sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club and American Legion. On the American Legion team, Richardson's coach was Fred Hutchinson, who would later manage the Cincinnati Reds when Richardson faced them in the 1961 World Series. Hutchinson and Richardson became American Legion champions in 1952, Richardson's junior year of high school. Hutchinson also coached Richardson at Edmunds High School. After Richardson batted just .211 in his first 27 games with the Tars, the Yankees assigned him to a Class D team, the Olean Yankees of the PONY League. With Olean, he batted .412 in 32 games and hit his first home run. For his contributions, Richardson was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player (MVP). In 119 games with the Bears, he batted .296 with 146 hits, 99 runs scored, 21 doubles, 12 triples, six home runs, and 59 RBI. He started four games at second base in three days (including an August 7 doubleheader), then entered three games in the late innings at shortstop before getting sent to the minor leagues on August 15 to make room for a pitcher returning from the disabled list. For some reason, he was sent to the Richmond Virginians of the Class AAA International League this time, with whom he finished the season.

In 1956, Richardson started the season with the Yankees. However, he only appeared in five games for them, batting .143 before getting sent back to Denver May 13. With the Bears, he ranked among the American Association leaders in batting average (.328, third), runs scored (102, sixth), hits (175, fourth), doubles (30, ninth), and triples (12, tied with Willie Kirkland for second behind Larry Raines's 14).

1957–59: Becoming a full-time player

Richardson made the team in 1957 and soon took over the second base job from Billy Martin. The Yankees' volatile infielder had injured himself in a deliberate golf cart collision with Mickey Mantle in spring training, then caused further trouble by getting into a highly publicized brawl at the Copacabana Club in May before getting traded to the Kansas City Athletics in June. Richardson proved a quieter sort of character, if not a great hitter in 1957; manager Casey Stengel said, "Look at him. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he doesn't chew, he doesn't stay out late, and he still can't hit .250."

By September, Richardson was losing a lot of starts to Jerry Coleman at second base. Even so, Stengel waited until the last minute to decide whether Coleman or Richardson would start at second base in the 1957 World Series against the Milwaukee Braves. Ultimately, Stengel chose Coleman, who started all seven games for the Yankees as Richardson was limited to two appearances as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. The Yankees lost the Series in seven games. After batting .203 through the Yankees' first 18 games, he missed 20 in a row as McDougald began getting the starts at second. Richardson started at second from June 5 through June 12 but thereafter spent most of the season on the bench until September, when he again got a few starts at second base. However, he became a World Series champion for the first time, as this year the Yankees defeated the Braves in seven games. He moved to second base on April 18 after McDougald suffered cracked knuckles, then returned to shortstop on April 29 when McDougald returned to the lineup. Only batting .232 through the season's first twenty games, he was benched after May 5 in favor of Tony Kubek.

Bill Dickey, the hitting coach for the Yankees, worked with Richardson to improve his hitting. In 1959, Richardson switched to a heavier bat and tried swinging harder at pitches. On July 25, 1959, Richardson and Fritz Brickell both hit their first major league home runs, Richardson's coming against Paul Foytack in a 9–8 victory over the Tigers. Batting .298 coming into the final game of the year, Richardson was the only Yankee with a chance at hitting .300. Stengel promised to remove him from the game if he got a hit in his first at bat (moving his batting average to .300). Richardson flew out to Albie Pearson in his first at bat but got hits in his next two at bats to move his average to .301, then was pinch-hit for in the eighth, preserving the mark. His .301 average topped the Yankees and ranked sixth in the American League (AL), and he finished 18th in AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting after the season. On April 30, June 30, and July 18, he had a season-high three hits. With the Yankees and Athletics tied 7–7 on May 6, Richardson singled against Bob Trowbridge, stole second base, moved to third on a groundout by Ryne Duren, then scored the winning run on a single by McDougald. Batting .208 through June 17, he hit .370 from June 18 through July 23, raising his season average to .273. Thereafter, he batted .215 to finish the year with a .252 mark. Third base coach Frank Crosetti signaled him to bunt, but after running the count to two strikes, Richardson cancelled the plan. He remained at the plate long enough to run the at bat to a full count, then hit a grand slam to put the Yankees ahead 6–0. Up to bat with the bases loaded again in the fourth inning, he had a two-RBI single against Red Witt. His six RBI set a new record for most in a single World Series game. Though Pittsburgh second baseman Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to win the Series for Pittsburgh, it was Richardson who would be named the World Series MVP after hitting .367 with 12 RBI. Sport Magazine gave him a new Corvette for his efforts. Since he had a growing family, Richardson traded the car for a Chevrolet station wagon. He had four RBI again in the second game of a doubleheader on July 9, including a three-run home run against Don Schwall, but the Yankees lost that game 9–6 to the Boston Red Sox. On August 17, he had three hits and scored three runs in a 5–3 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees lost 6–4 to the Los Angeles Angels on August 26, but Richardson had five hits in the game. Playing all 162 games for the Yankees, Richardson batted .261 with 80 runs scored, 17 doubles, five triples, three home runs, and 49 RBI. Defensively, he led the AL with 413 putouts and 136 double plays assisted in. The Yankees defeated the Reds in five games, making Richardson a World Series champion for the second time. He was selected to both of the All-Star Games in 1962. Against the Washington Senators on September 19, he had four hits, two runs scored, and an RBI in an 8–5 victory. Len Pasculi of the Society for American Baseball Research called 1962 his most productive year, as he batted .302 with eight home runs, 59 RBI, and 11 stolen bases in 161 games. He finished second to Mantle in AL MVP voting.

The Yankees faced the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series. Richardson batted a mere .148 in this Series, However, his glove would provide one of the most famous memories of the series. In Game 7, the Yankees had the only run of the game going into the bottom of the ninth inning, needing three outs to win the series. Matty Alou led off with a single, however, and after two strikeouts, Mays doubled to put the tying run (Alou) at third with future Hall of Famer Willie McCovey coming to bat. If Mays scored, the Giants would win the series.

1963–66: Extending his streaks

thumb|left|180px|Richardson in 1963

On April 23, 1963, Richardson had three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored in a 7–6 victory over the Senators. His father suffered a stroke in May, then died on July 17. Richardson missed 11 games during the year visiting him and helping get his affairs in order. After setting a career high with eight home runs the year before, Richardson hit three in 1963, all in Yankee losses. In 151 games, Richardson batted .265 with 72 runs scored and 48 RBI. Richardson again garnered AL MVP votes, finishing tenth this time. (Koufax would finish with 15 strikeouts, then a World Series single-game record.) Just that regular season, Richardson had struck out only 22 times in 630 at-bats. Less than a month later, he had five hits on June 4 in a 9–7 victory over the Twins. He picked up his 1,000th hit on June 12 with a line drive to left field against Frank Baumann in a 6–1 victory over the White Sox in the first game of a doubleheader. The hit had proved difficult to come by for Richardson, who had put the ball in play seven times in his last two games without reaching base safely. Once again, he was selected to the All-Star Game. In 159 games, he batted .267 with four home runs, 50 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. He finished 17th in AL MVP voting after the season. However, batting against Cardinal ace Bob Gibson with the Yankees trailing 7–5 in the ninth inning of Game 7, he popped out to Dal Maxvill for the final out of the Series. Richardson also had the dubious distinction of committing errors that affected the outcome of two games in the Series. In the sixth inning of Game 4, he mishandled Dick Groat's ground ball for a double play that would have ended the inning with no runs scoring; the error was followed one batter later by Ken Boyer's grand slam—the four runs the Cardinals needed in defeating the Yankees 4–3. In the fifth inning of Game 5, he bobbled Curt Flood's double play ground ball, which also would have ended that inning without any damage. The Cardinals eventually scored twice in the inning, then won the game 5–2 on Tim McCarver's 10th inning, three-run home run. This was Richardson's final (of seven) World Series; he played all 30 World Series games from 1960 through 1964. After hitting into a fielder's choice on June 15, Richardson stole second base, then scored on a Maris single to put the Yankees up 1–0; however, the Yankees would lose the game 2–1 in the 10th inning. He was selected to the All-Star Game once again. Five days later, his home run against Gary Peters put the Yankees ahead to stay in a 2–1 victory over the White Sox. On August 8, Ray Barker and Richardson hit back-to-back home runs against Denny McLain in a 6–5 victory over the Tigers. In 160 games, Richardson batted .247 with 76 runs scored, 164 hits, 28 doubles, six home runs, and 47 RBI. He hit a three-run double against Tommy John on June 2 to turn a 3–2 deficit into a 5–3 lead for the Yankees, who defeated the White Sox. Five days later, he had three hits, three runs scored, and three RBI, including a home run against John O'Donoghue in a 7–2 victory over the Indians. On June 29, he had five hits, one of which was a home run against Rollie Sheldon and was followed by two more by Mantle and Joe Pepitone in a 6–5 victory over the Red Sox. Richardson made the All-Star Game for the fifth year in a row, his seventh and final selection. On September 11, he hit his last major league home run against John Wyatt in the 10th inning of a 4–2 victory over the Red Sox. while forming a top double play combination with shortstop and roommate Kubek. With the light-hitting but superb-fielding Yankee third baseman Clete Boyer, Richardson and Kubek gave the Yankees arguably the best defensive infield in baseball in the early 1960s.

Richardson was also known for his ability to make contact. He struck out just 243 times, less than 5% of his plate appearances. A leadoff hitter who rarely missed a game, Richardson led the league in at bats three times. A skilled bunter, he led the league in sacrifice hits in 1962 and 1964. Only once, in 1962, which was Richardson's best year, was his OPS+ over 100, and his career OPS+ was only 77.

Coaching

In the late 1960s, Paul Dietzel asked Richardson if he would become the head baseball coach for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Richardson told him no twice, as he was under a personal services contract with the Yankees. However, after Dietzel asked him a third time, Richardson secured permission from the Yankees to take the job, assuming the role in 1970. He would often pitch batting practice and drive the team bus for events. Richardson also tried to perform recruiting for the school but delegated the responsibility to others after he figured out "I wasn't going after the good players." Under Richardson, Larry Keith of Sports Illustrated wrote, "South Carolina rarely bunts, often hits-and-runs and is always looking for the big inning." After the 1986 season, he resigned as head coach at Coastal Carolina to replace Al Worthington as the baseball coach at Liberty University. "I came here as athletic director under a different administration and [Chancellor] Ron [Eaglin] felt I should resign as athletic director and focus on baseball," Richardson explained the decision to resign, with Eaglin saying the two had disagreed on a budget for the next season. Worthington, who had become Liberty's athletic director, served as pitching coach under Richardson, who coached the Flames for the next four seasons before retiring in 1990. Richardson succeeded Worthington as Liberty's athletic director in December 1989, but resigned six months later.

Head coaching record

1976 political campaign

In 1974, Nixon tried to convince Richardson to run as a Republican for the United States House of Representatives in South Carolina's 5th congressional district. Later, a private poll indicated he would have been the favorite had he run.

Election results

Personal life

thumb|Richardson (left) with North Carolina Governor [[Dan K. Moore|Moore in 1968]]

Betsy Dobson, Richardson's future spouse, met him at Grace Baptist Church of Sumter. In 1954, they went to a miniature golf course on their first date. Two years later, they were married. In an unusual move, Houk granted Richardson permission to leave the Denver Bears midseason to get married. He was involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the American Tract Society (ATS) during his career, as well as many charities. He has spoken at five Billy Graham Crusades, as well as at various churches. Several of his Yankee teammates requested that he preside at their funerals, most notably Mickey Mantle. Speaking to an audience of 2,000 (plus television viewers) at Mantle's interment, Richardson said there were two types of people in this world, those who said yes to Christ and those who said no. Shortly before Mantle's death, as Richardson had visited Mantle in a Dallas hospital, Mantle had told Richardson that he had become a Christian. Excerpts from the film's audio track were available on an LP record titled: The Bobby Richardson Story: The Exciting First-Person Account of His Own Life, By the Yankees' Famous Second Baseman. He released a new autobiography in 2012 called Impact Player.

See also

  • List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise

Notes

References

  • Bobby Richardson's personal website: https://www.bobbyrichardson.com/