Bobby Richardson
Encyclopedia
Robert Clinton "Bobby" Richardson (born August 19, 1935, in Sumter, South Carolina
Sumter, South Carolina
-Demographics:, there were 59,180 people, 34,717 households, and 4,049 families living in the city. The population density was 4,469.5 people per square mile . There were 416,032 housing units at an average density of 603.0 per square mile...

) is a former second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

 in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played for the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 from through . Batting and throwing right-handed, he was a superb defensive infielder, as well as something of a clutch hitter, who played no small role in the Yankee baseball dynasty of his day. He is the only World Series MVP
World Series MVP Award
The World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...

 ever to be selected from the losing team. He wore the uniform number 1 (one) for the majority of his career (1958–1966).

Biography

Richardson debuted on August 5, 1955. He racked up 1,432 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

 in his career, with a lifetime batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 of .266, 34 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 390 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

s. He won five Gold Gloves at second base, while forming a top double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....

 combination with shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

 and roommate Tony Kubek
Tony Kubek
Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster....

. With the light-hitting but superb-fielding Yankee third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

 Clete Boyer
Clete Boyer
Cletis Leroy "Clete" Boyer was a Major League Baseball player.A third baseman who also played shortstop and second base occasionally, Boyer played for the Kansas City Athletics , New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves...

, Richardson and Kubek gave the Yankees arguably the best defensive infield in baseball. His most famous defensive play came at the end of the 1962 World Series
1962 World Series
The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...

, mentioned below, when Richardson made a clutch catch of a Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...

 line drive that prevented Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...

 and Matty Alou
Matty Alou
Mateo Rojas "Matty" Alou was a Dominican outfielder who spent fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants , Pittsburgh Pirates , St. Louis Cardinals , Oakland Athletics , New York Yankees and San Diego Padres...

 from scoring the runs that would have beaten the Yankees and given the Series to the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

.

Richardson's 12-year career statistics also include 643 runs scored
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

 and 73 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

s. He also had 196 double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

s and 37 triple
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

s.

Baseball highlights

His best year was probably , when he batted .302 with 8 home runs and 59 runs batted in. His 209 hits led the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

, and he stole 11 bases in 161 games. He made the AL All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 team, won his second Gold Glove, and came in second in the AL MVP
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

 voting, just behind teammate Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...

.
One of the best parts of Richardson's game was his ability to make contact. He struck out
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

 just 243 times in his entire 12-year career, less than 5% of his plate appearances. He was among the top three players in the league in at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...

s per strikeout eight times during his career, and led the league three times, 1964-1966. He twice led the league in sacrifice bunts.

He also led the league in at bats three times, partly because he batted early in the order and partly because he rarely missed a game, coming to be known as a workhorse. His career high was 692 at bats in 161 games in 1962.

Stats when measured by sabremetrics

Despite the raw totals, Richardson was a poor offensive player when measured by sabremetrics. Since he rarely walked, his career OBP
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...

 was .299, and since he had little power, his career slugging percentage was only .335. Every year from 1961-1966 he finished in the top five in the American League in outs made, leading the league four of those six years. As Bill James
Bill James
George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...

 remarked, "Richardson, frankly, was a horrible leadoff man. He rarely got on base and almost never got into scoring position. Leading off for the 1961 Yankees, playing 162 games and batting 662 times, with 237 home runs coming up behind him, Richardson scored only 80 runs. 80. Eight-zero...Plus Richardson used up a zillion outs while he was not scoring runs." Only once, in 1962, which was Richardson’s best year, was his OPS+
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...

 over 100, and his career OPS+ was only 77.

He had an all-time fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...

 of .979 at second base.

Postseason

Richardson won three World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

 (1958
1958 World Series
The 1958 World Series was a rematch of the 1957 Series, with the New York Yankees beating the defending champion Milwaukee Braves in seven games for their eighteenth title, and their seventh in ten years...

, 1961
1961 World Series
The 1961 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Cincinnati Reds , with the Yankees winning in five games to earn their 19th championship in 39 seasons. This World Series was surrounded by Cold War political puns pitting the "Reds" against the "Yanks"...

, 1962
1962 World Series
The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...

) of the seven he played with the Yankees (1957
1957 World Series
The 1957 World Series featured the defending champions, the New York Yankees , playing against the Milwaukee Braves . After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Braves came back in 1957 to win their first pennant since moving from Boston in 1953...

, 1958, 1960
1960 World Series
The 1960 World Series was played between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League from October 5 to October 13, 1960...

, 1961, 1962, 1963
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....

, 1964
1964 World Series
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St...

). Hardly moving from his position, he caught the final out of the 1962 Series, snaring a screaming line drive off the bat of Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...

, which, if it had been two or three feet higher would have won the Series for the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

.

In Game One of the 1963 World Series
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....

, which the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 swept in four games over the Yankees, Richardson struck out three times against Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...

—his only three-strikeout game in 1448 regular-season/World Series games. (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, without even striking out twice in one game.

In the 1964 World Series
1964 World Series
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St...

 against the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

, he tied a World Series record with 13 hits. However, with the Yankees losing 7-5 in Game 7, and batting against Cardinal ace Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...

, he popped out to Dal Maxvill
Dal Maxvill
Charles Dallan Maxvill is a former shortstop, coach and general manager in Major League Baseball. A graduate of St. Louis' Washington University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering, Maxvill signed a professional baseball contract in 1960 with the hometown St...

 for the final out of the Series. Richardson also had the dubious distinction of committing uncharacteristic errors that affected the outcome of two games in that Series. In the sixth inning of Game Four, he mishandled Dick Groat
Dick Groat
Richard Morrow Groat is a former two-sport athlete best known as a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for four National League teams, mainly the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in after winning the batting title with a .325...

's ground ball for a double play that would have ended the inning with no runs scoring; the error was followed by Ken Boyer
Ken Boyer
Kenton Lloyd Boyer was an American Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. During a 15-year baseball career, he played for 1955-1969 for four different teams, playing primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals...

's grand slam one batter later—the four runs the Cardinals needed in defeating the Yankees 4-3. In the fifth inning of Game Five, he bobbled Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...

'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
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...

's 10th inning, three-run home run.

Post professional baseball career

Richardson ran for the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 from South Carolina's 5th Congressional District in 1976 as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, losing to incumbent Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Kenneth Holland by a narrow margin. Holland was aided by the strength of Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

's winning campaign in South Carolina to hold off Richardson by a tally of 66,073 (51.4%) to 62,095 (48.3%.) There were 342 votes for an independent candidate and scattered write-ins. His campaign was supported by former baseball players Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...

, Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...

, Bob Feller
Bob Feller
On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...

, and Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell among others. Richardson's old friend, Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek
Tony Kubek
Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster....

, declined to campaign for him because Kubek was a Democrat.

Richardson served as the head baseball coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina Gamecocks
The University of South Carolina's 19 varsity sports teams are known as the "Gamecocks". The unique moniker is held in honor of Thomas Sumter, a South Carolina war hero who was given the name "The Carolina Gamecock" during the American Revolution for his fierce fighting tactics, regardless of his...

 from 1970 - 1976 and coached them to a second-place finish in the 1975 College World Series
1975 College World Series
The 1975 College World Series was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, NE from June 6 to June 14. The twenty-ninth tournament's champion was The University of Texas, coached by Cliff Gustafson...

—the first CWS in the school's history. Richardson had led the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1974, which set the stage for what would happen a year later in 1975 when South Carolina posted a 51-6-1 record, made the College World Series, and played for the National Title against Texas (5-1 Longhorns victory). Richardson left South Carolina after the 1976 season, finishing his tenure with a 221-92-1 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Richardson is considered the father of South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina Gamecocks
The University of South Carolina's 19 varsity sports teams are known as the "Gamecocks". The unique moniker is held in honor of Thomas Sumter, a South Carolina war hero who was given the name "The Carolina Gamecock" during the American Revolution for his fierce fighting tactics, regardless of his...

 Baseball and is credited with having set them on their path to becoming one of the elite college baseball programs in the NCAA still today.

In the 1980s, Richardson served as the baseball coach at Liberty University
Liberty University
Liberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's annual enrollment is around 72,000 students, 12,000 of whom are residential students and 60,000+ studying through Liberty University Online...

 and also for two seasons (1985–86) at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina
Conway, South Carolina
Conway is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 16,317 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Horry County and is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. It is the home of Coastal Carolina University....

, where he compiled a record of (61-38).

Richardson is a born-again Christian. He is a national leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization founded in 1954 and that has been based in Kansas City, Missouri since 1956. It falls within the tradition of Muscular Christianity. Although established by evangelical Protestants, the concept has...

 and a much sought-after Christian speaker. He makes personal appearances at churches and on October 18, 1970, at the invitation of President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

, preached at the White House. For instance, he appeared on October 27, 2007, at North Monroe Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...

, to sign autographs and share baseball tales with fans of all age groups.

Richardson also officiated at his Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...

's funeral.

Legacy

In the late 1960s, an LP record (LP # W-3343-LP) produced and titled The Bobby Richardson Story, produced by Word Records Inc. of Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....

, was released. The sub-title is "The Exciting First-Person Account of His Own Life, By the Yankees' Famous Second Baseman".

Sources

1. ESPN web site, yearly list of World Series results from the beginning to the present.
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