J.R. Richard

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-8, 222lb (203cm, 100kg)
Born: March 7, 1950 in Vienna, LA us
Died: August 4, 2021  in Houston, TX
Buried: Houston Memorial Gardens, Pearland, TX
Draft: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round (2nd) of the 1969 MLB June Amateur Draft from Lincoln HS (Ruston, LA).
High School: Lincoln HS (Ruston, LA)
School: Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ)
Debut: September 5, 1971 (13,191st in major league history)
vs. SFG 9.0 IP, 7 H, 15 SO, 3 BB, 2 ER, W
Last Game: July 14, 1980
vs. ATL 3.1 IP, 1 H, 4 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER
Full Name: James Rodney Richard
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen

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Darrell Porter

Notable Events and Chronology for J.R. Richard Career

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

March 7, 1950

 James Rodney Richard is born in Vienna, LA

June 5, 1969

Joe Morgan goes 4-for-4, including a home run and four runs scored, to pace the Astros past St. Louis, 11-6, at the Astrodome. Dooley Womack, the last of six Houston pitchers, gets the victory. Houston wins off the field too, choosing pitcher James Rodney Richard of Ruston, LA with the second overall pick in the draft, behind Jeff Burroughs. Richard has a 21-0 mark in his three years at Ruston High School.

September 5, 1971

In his major league debut, J.R. Richard throws a complete game in the Astros’ 5-3 victory over San Francisco at Candlestick Park

August 20, 1973

J.R. Richard tosses a two-hitter as Houston bombs the Pirates, 10-2

April 29, 1975

The Astros explode for eight runs in the seventh to topple the Padres, 8-2.

August 10, 1975

The woeful “Lastros” sweep a four-game series from division-leading Pittsburgh, 5-3

October 2, 1976

J.R. Richard becomes a twenty-game winner on the last day of the season

November 2, 1976

Amazingly, it takes 15 years for Houston to garner a vote in the Cy Young Award balloting. The vote goes to J.R. Richard, who has a 20-win season, but he is well behind San Diego’s Randy Jones in the returns. 

September 12, 1977

J.R. Richards whiffs eleven Reds for his 15th win and 3 Stros hit bombs

October 2, 1977

When Dusty Baker hits his 30th homer of the season the Dodgers become the first team in major league history to have four players hit 30 or more home runs.

May 20, 1978

J.R. Richard fires his second-straight shutout in a 13-0 drubbing of the Braves. Jose Cruz is the batting star with four hits and six RBIs. Enos Cabell contributes three hits while Denny Walling launches his first major league home run. 

May 30, 1978

J.R. Richard tosses three wild pitches in the seventh inning, wasting his own three-hitter in the process

September 28, 1978

J.R. Richard becomes the first righthander in National league history to reach 300 strikeouts during a 4-3 victory over Atlanta

April 10, 1979

J.R. Richard ties a major-league record by throwing six wild pitches in a game against Los Angeles, but he also strikes out 13 in a 2-1 victory. Cesar Cedeno, Jose Cruz and Enos Cabell tag consecutive doubles off Burt Hooton in the fourth for the Houston runs. 

June 30, 1979

1979 – J.R. Richard blanks the Padres on three hits, 3-0. Cesar Cedeno belts a homer and Jose Cruz adds three hits to spark the offense. 

August 8, 1979

1979 – J.R. Richard fans 12 and delivers the game-winning hit during a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles. Terry Puhl opens the scoring with a first-inning blast off Burt Hooton. Richard’s two-run single in the fifth ends the stalemate. It is J.R.’s tenth straight win over the Dodgers. 

September 11, 1979

Cincinnati tops Houston lead NL West

September 25, 1979

J.R. Richard tops the 300-strikeout barrier for the second straight year

November 7, 1979

Bruce Sutter wins the 1979 National League Cy Young Award 

April 19, 1980

J.R. Richard one-hits Los Angeles in a 12-strikeout performance, his 13th straight win over the Dodgers

April 25, 1980

J.R. Richard notches his 100th victory, toppling the Mets, 7-4.

June 11, 1980

1980 – J.R. Richard blanks the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, extending his shutout innings steak to 31-2/3rd innings.  He fans eight and walks three, allowing six hits yet says his arm doesn’t feel right. Jose Cruz and Denny Walling give Richard all the support he needs with RBI singles in the first inning. The win marks the first homestand sweep in Houston history, taking six from the Giants and Cubs. 

July 8, 1980

the 51st All-Star Game features J.R. Richard (10-4) and Steve Stone (12-3) as the starters. Ken Griffey wins the MVP

July 16, 1980

Houston Astros place pitcher J.R. Richard on the disabled list amidst rumors that he is malingering and feigning an arm injury

July 30, 1980

 J.R. Richard collapses from a stroke while working out at the Astrodome

April 4, 1982

J.R. Richard makes his last apparence

March 27, 1984

The Houston Astros release J.R. Richard, ending his major league career

June 8, 2010

Pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes the most eagerly anticipated debut in decades before a sell-out crowd in Washington, DC

August 2, 2019

Podcast – July 29 – August 4

Among the most tragic figures in baseball annals is 6’8″ J.R. Richard. With a fastball clocked as high as 100 mph, the Louisianan signed with Houston as their first pick in 1969, passing up 200 basketball scholarship offers. Facing the Giants on September 5, 1971, he fanned 15 batters to tie Karl Spooner’s record for most strikeouts in a major league debut. But he pitched mostly in the minors until 1975, and later blamed racism for his failure to advance. Explained teammate Enos Cabell, “He’s very sensitive to racial conditions….He’s a country boy, a Bible reader. He’s not used to pressure or criticism.”

Richard was intimidating. With his gigantic stride, he made batters feel as if they were “facing someone who is throwing at them too fast from too close and too great a height,” said Sports Illustrated in 1978. He mixed in a superb slider and, because he was wild, hitters could not dig in against him. His six wild pitches in a 1979 game tied a modern NL record. Bob Watson claimed, “I’ve never taken batting practice against him and I never will. I have a family to think of.” Richard led the NL in walks three times, but won 20 games in 1976 and 18 each year from 1977 to 1979. The Astros’ ace led the NL with 303 strikeouts in 1978 and 313 in 1979, winning the league ERA title (2.71).

In June 1980, Richard began complaining of “a dead arm.” The media, fans, and some teammates accused him of loafing (though he hadn’t missed a start in five years), gutlessness (the Astros were in a pennant race), jealousy of Nolan Ryan’s bigger contract, and even drug abuse. He was 10-4 (1.89) and had started the All-Star Game when, in a July 14 assignment, he appeared dazed and had trouble seeing the catcher’s signs, and his movements became awkward. He was put on the disabled list, and though tests revealed a blockage in an artery leading to his right arm, doctors felt there was no danger. Richard resumed workouts, but on July 30, he collapsed. Finding no pulse in his right carotid artery, surgeons removed a clot to restore blood flow to his brain.

The stroke virtually paralyzed Richard’s left side, but, in an attempt to restore his chances of pitching again, another operation was performed. With therapy, most of his strength and speech returned, and he tried a comeback the following spring. But his reflexes and coordination were gone, he was unable to make spatial perceptions and could not field his position. He pitched some in the minors, but eventually “traded baseball for a life of God,” he explained, and sold cars. Said wife Carolyn, “I’ve never seen a player dragged through the mud like this….It took death, or nearly death, to get an apology. They should have believed him.

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Other Resources & Links

Baseball-Reference Box Score