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). Richardson Marble and Granite Works in Sumter was managed by Robert Sr., who also owned some of the interest in the company.
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.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Georgia Tech offered Richardson baseball scholarships, and 11 out of 16 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams showed interest in him as well. Mayo Smith, manager of the Norfolk Tars, a team in the Class B Piedmont League and an affiliate of the New York Yankees, scouted Richardson for New York, as did Bill Harris. Ultimately, Richardson decided to forgo college and sign with the Yankees out of high school (though he later earned a degree in accounting).
Career
1953–56: Playing in the minor leagues, debuting with the Yankees Richardson started his minor league career in 1953 with the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League, travelling by bus to Norfolk from Sumter with $85 in coins friends and family had given him. 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.
In 1954, Richardson was promoted, heading up to the Class A Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League without having to return to Norfolk. Spending the whole year in Binghamton, he ranked among the Eastern League leaders in games (141, tied for first), runs (81, fifth), hits (171, first), doubles (29, second to Clyde Parris's 40), and batting average (.310, second to Parris's .313). For his contributions, Richardson was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Richardson spent most of spring training with the Yankees in 1955 but was sent to the Class AAA Denver Bears of the American Association to start the year. 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.
When Gil McDougald found himself on the receiving end of a line drive during batting practice in August 1955, the Yankees called up Richardson. He debuted on August 5, 1955, getting his first hit against Hall of Famer Jim Bunning in a 3–0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. In the field, he was a "nervous wreck" as he later described, but no balls were hit to him. 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. Called up again in September, he appeared in four more games for the Yankees before the end of the year.
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." His fielding was better; Louis Effrat of The New York Times wrote June 25, "He has thrilled the fans with his great stops and catches... no one gets rid of the ball quicker [on double plays]." Actually, Richardson's .331 average trailed only Mantle among the Yankees on June 25, and he made his first appearance in the All-Star Game that year. However, he batted .188 over the rest of the year, finishing the season with a .256 mark and 78 hits in 305 at bats.
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.
Coleman retired following the 1957 season, and Richardson began 1958 as the Yankees' starting second baseman. 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. In 73 games (182 at bats), he batted .247 with 18 runs scored and 45 hits. Richardson considered quitting baseball that season because of his struggles, but Ralph Houk, the Yankees' first base coach and Richardson's former manager at Denver, convinced him to keep playing. In the 1958 World Series, again against the Braves, Richardson finished three games for the Yankees at third base and also started Game 4 at third, though he was hitless in two at bats before getting pinch-hit for in the seventh by Elston Howard. However, he became a World Series champion for the first time, as this year the Yankees defeated the Braves in seven games.
Richardson began 1959 as the Yankees' shortstop; Effrat wrote, "[Richardson] is a tremendous fielder no matter where [the Yankees] play him." 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. Given the chance to start at second base again in mid-June, Richardson raised his batting average from .232 to .300 over six games with 11 hits in 18 at bats. He was on the roster for the second All-Star Game of the year and remained the starting second baseman the rest of the season. 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. In 134 games (469 at bats), he had 53 runs scored, 141 hits, 18 doubles, six triples, two home runs (both against Foytack), and 33 RBI. 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.
1960–62: Starring in the World Series