Books and articles about Bobby Richardson

Respected as a competitor and as a clean-living, God-fearing gentleman, Richardson played a solid second base on seven Yankee pennant-winners. He had great range and was particularly adept at turning the double play; teamed with shortstop Tony Kubek, he led the AL in double plays four times. He won five consecutive Gold Gloves (1961-65).

RELATED LINKS Book Excerpts » 1960: The Last Pure Season by Kerry Keene » The Best Double-Play Tandems from Bob Feller's Little Black Book of Baseball Wisdom Greatest Teams » 1961 Yankees Submissions » Major League Leaders Who Weren't: 1961's Unbalanced Schedule by Fred Worth Around the Web » Bobby Richardson from baseball-reference.com Jump directly to Library content from any website!

Though Richardson hit .301 in 1959, the singles hitter was not usually one of the Yankees' major offensive threats. An exception was his sensational performance in the 1960 World Series, which won him Series MVP honors. He batted .367 with 11 hits, a grand slam, and eight runs scored. He set WS records with 12 total RBI and 6 RBI in Game Three, though he had driven in only 26 runs during the regular season. In 1961, he tied records for a five-game Series with nine hits and 23 at-bats, for a .391 average. He dramatically ended the 1962 Series when he caught Willie McCovey's hard liner with two on and two out in the ninth inning of Game Seven to preserve the Yankees' 1-0 victory over San Francisco.

Manager Casey Stengel platooned Richardson with Jerry Lumpe in 1957 and 1958, and never gave Richardson more than 469 at-bats a year. He once said of the young second baseman, "He don't smoke, he don't drink, and he still can't hit .250." Ralph Houk, who took over the Yankees in 1961, liked a set lineup. He played Richardson every day and placed him at the top of the order. The combination of leading off for the best offense in the league and rarely walking resulted in Richardson leading the AL in at-bats each year from 1962 through 1964, setting an AL record with 692 in '62. That year his 209 hits were the AL high. He batted .302 and finished second to Mickey Mantle in MVP voting. On June 24, he tied a ML record by coming to bat 11 times in a 22-inning game against Detroit.

His Yankee teammates were a down-and-dirty bunch, but they tried to clean up their act around the religious Richardson. Once Moose Skowron struck out three times in a game and came storming into the dugout, threw his equipment down, and was cursing as he walked down the bench. As he passed Richardson, still cursing, he threw in an "Excuse me, Bobby," and continued with his obscenities, cracking up the whole team. After the collapse of the Yankee dynasty in 1965 Richardson and shortstop Tony Kubek decided between themselves that it would be bad for the team if they both retired at once. Kubek's injuries limited his effectiveness, so he called it quits after the 1965 season, with Richardson staying through 1966. He coached college ball after his playing days. (FK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 16, 1956: On a blustery day in Cleveland, the Yankees top the Indians, 4–1. Mickey Mantle hits a homer, off Bud Daley, while his pal Billy Martin is benched for the first time. Bobby Richardson takes his place at 2B. » September 16, 1960: 17th With Ty Cobb among the 49,055 fans in attendance at Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle cracks a 2-run homer, his 35th, off the O's Chuck Estrada to give New York a 2–0 lead in the first. Berra adds a home run. In the last of the 8th, Bobby Richardson's hit off Estrada's glove drives in two runs for a 5–3 New York win. » October 8, 1960: Bombing continues in the Bronx in Game 3. Yankee Bobby Richardson's six RBI, including a grand slam off reliever Clem Labine in a 6-run first inning, and Whitey Ford's 4-hitter give the Yanks a 10–0 win and a 2-1 World Series lead, spoiling Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh's 43rd birthday. » October 12, 1960: Whitey Ford preserves the Yankees hopes with a 7-hit shutout at Pittsburgh. Bob Friend is bombed again as New York coasts 12–0. Bobby Richardson's two run-scoring triples give him a World Series record of 12 RBI. » October 13, 1960: In a 9–9 tie, Bill Mazeroski leads off the last of the 9th and hits what is arguably the most dramatic home run in Series history, off Ralph Terry, to give Pittsburgh a 10–9 win and the World Championship. An oddity in this game: it is the only World Series game this century with no strikeouts recorded. Despite Maz's heroics, Bobby Richardson is the Series MVP, as the Yanks outscore the Bucs, 52 to 27. » June 24, 1962: A marathon between the Tigers and Yankees concludes in the 22nd inning when Jack Reed's home run—his only one in the ML—gives New York and Jim Bouton a 9–7 victory. Reed replaced Pepitone in the 13th. For the Tigers, Phil Regan takes the loss and Rocky Colavito has seven hits. Bobby Richardson ties a mark by going to the plate 11 times. At an even seven hours, the game is the slowest extra-inning contest in league history and it is the longest game in innings in Yankee history. » October 16, 1962: New York scores the game's only run, as Tony Kubek grounds into a 5th-inning DP. In the 9th, with two outs and Matty Alou on 1B, Willie Mays rips a double to right off Ralph Terry, but great fielding by Roger Maris keeps Alou from scoring. Willie McCovey then hits a screaming liner toward right, but 2B Bobby Richardson gloves it, giving the Yankees a 1–0 win and a 2nd straight World Series victory. Terry is named World Series MVP. » June 29, 1966: At Fenway Park, Mantle opens the scoring in the first inning with a 3-run shot, then sandwiches a homer between round trippers by Bobby Richardson and Joe Pepitone in the 3rd inning in New York's 6–5 win. The consecutive trifecta was last done for the Yankees in 1947, when Keller, DiMaggio, and Lindell connected. Richardson is 5–for-5 in the game. Mantle's two homers today, his 37th and 38th at Fenway, will be his last in Boston, and ties him with Babe Ruth for most homers by a Sox opponent. » July 3, 1966: Mickey Mantle hits a first inning homer, and for the 2nd time this week has hit three home runs in consecutive times at bat. New York blows a 5–0 lead in the 8th as the Senators storm back. Bobby Richardson homers in the 11th to give New York a 6–5 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Paul Casanova goes is on first when a sac bunt moves him to 2B. He overruns the bag and decides to head to 3B where he knocks the ball away from Tom Tresh. He then continues to home where he is thrown out by a mile. » August 31, 1966: Yankees 2B Bobby Richardson, 31, announces his retirement. » October 4, 1989: Will Clark goes 4-for-4 with two home runs, including the first NLCS grand slam since 1977, to lead the Giants to a 11–3 win over the Cubs in Game One of the National League playoffs. Clark's six RBI tie Bobby Richardson's single-game post season record set in the 1960 World Series.