Dorothy Richardson (born September 22, 1961 in Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

) is an American physician and former international softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 player.

Education

Richardson attended Western Illinois University for one year and the University of California Los Angeles for four years. Richardson has Master’s degree from Adelphi University

Adelphi University

Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...

 as a graduate assistant for softball She attended the University of Louisville

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

 School of Medicine and received an M.D. degree in 1993. She then entered her five year orthopedic residency program at the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

. She took a one year leave of absence to participate in the 1996 Olympic Games, where she and her teammates captured the first ever Olympic Gold Medal in the sport of Softball. Later she did a fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Clinic in Los Angeles.

Softball career

Richardson played in first ASA Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship. At age 13, she was the youngest player to ever play in a Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship.
She used to play on the sidelines at her brothers' baseball games. Starting in 1972 she played for the Union Pack Jets of Orlando Florida, the Orlando Rebels, the Raybestos Brakettes

Connecticut Brakettes

The Connecticut Brakettes is a women's fastpitch softball team based in Stratford, Connecticut. The team has won many state, regional, national, and international tournaments .- History :...

 of Stratford, Connecticut (1984-1994), and the California Commotion of Woodland Hills, California.

She was a key part of the United States national team that won the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 during the sport's Olympic

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

 debut in 1996

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 hitting the home run that won the game. After her win at the Olympics, she continued with her career as an orthopedic surgeon

Orthopedic surgery

Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system...

. She is married to Bob Pinto. Dot Richardson is currently Executive Director and Medical Director of the National Training Center.

Awards

Richardson is the recipient of the 1998 Sports Legends Award, the 1997 Babe Zaharias Award (Female Athlete of the Year), the 1996 Amateur Athletic Foundation Athete of the Year, inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1996, Nuprin Comeback of the Year Award in 1990, four-time Sullivan Award nominee and inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame in 1999. Her college honors include NCAA Player of the Decade (1980s), three-time NCAA All-American, two-time AIAW All-American, three-time ULCA MVP and 1983 All University Award at UCLA. She was named MVP in the Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship four times. She is an inductee of the National Softball Hall of Fame

National Softball Hall of Fame

National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum is a softball museum located in Oklahoma City's Adventure District. It includes the "Don E. Porter" Hall of Fame Stadium, home to the World Cup of Softball and the annual Women's College World Series...

.

External links