HALF A MILLION!! Houston Sports - J.R. Richard

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J.R. Richard

Born: March 7, 1950

Sport: Baseball (107-71 pitching record, All-Star, ERA title)

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the United States!  I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the celebrations for our country's 250th birthday, including my own neighborhood's 131st consecutive July 4th celebration last night, and continue to cheer on our national team as the play on the world's biggest soccer stage.  On the baseball field, we got news that Yordan Alvarez was voted into the starting position for the American League's DH at the upcoming All-Star game, and maybe he'll get to add some MVP hardware to that trophy case now that he's getting to perform at a high level without injury issues.  One of the toughest questions to answer in all of sports is "What if...?"  While it finally seems like Houston's big slugger is answering that question in a big way, this week we're going to turn our attention to a former star for the Astros that will forever have that question mark beside his name.  J.R. Richard was a dominant pitcher who was unfortunately cut down in his prime almost exactly 46 years ago, and he never got the chance to play out the remainder of his best years for a team that had finally put all of the pieces together.  Let's learn more about his story.

The Astrodome in the 1970s during the heyday of Richards' time in Houston

Born in the rural town of Vienna, Louisiana, James Robert Richard was raised alongside 11 siblings in a typical middle-class family by James Clayton Richard, who worked in the lumber industry, and his wife Lizzie, who was a cook at the local elementary school.  His physical stature complemented his natural sports talent, as he played both basketball and baseball for Lincoln High School in nearby Ruston, LA.  J.R. dwarfed nearly everyone his age, standing 6' 8" and weighing 220 pounds by the time he graduated in 1969, and during his senior season he not only averaged 30 points and 20 rebounds on the basketball court but also pitched a nearly-perfect season.  And I don't mean he just won every game, which he did, but he didn't allow a single run all year.  In one game, which was an absolute blowout of a cross-town rival, Richard smacked home runs in four consecutive plate appearances.  Colleges from everywhere wanted him on their campus, but Richard turned down over 200 scholarship offers to stick with his true love.  The Houston Astros selected him with the 2nd overall pick in the 1969 amateur draft, and Richard quickly accepted their offer of a $100,000 signing bonus and reported to their minor league affiliate in Covington, VA, while still just 19 years of age.

As he became a professional baseball player, J.R. Richard possessed a fastball that could surpass 100 mph and a slider that reached 93, a typical fastball for many major league pitchers of the era.  But it was more challenging for him to find the strike zone consistently, as he not only walked a ton of batters but hit his fair share as well.  Richard had "the stuff", however, and continued advancing quickly through the minor leagues until he reached AAA Oklahoma City at the start of the 1971 season.  After watching the young man lead the league in ERA and strikeouts the Astros called Richard up to the big club when rosters expanded in September, and for his major league debut he was tasked with facing the mighty San Francisco Giants and their four future Hall of Famers: Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, and Gaylord Perry.  All Richard did was tie the all-time record for strikeouts in a debut performance with 15, including Mays three times.  In four games that he pitched during that final month of 1971, Richard gave up a total of 8 runs while striking out 29, but in a sign of his wildness also walked 16 batters.  Consequently he continued to bounce back and forth between Houston and their minor league clubs for a few seasons until 1974 when his AAA stats over four games yielded a 4-0 record and 0.00 ERA.  Richard was still a bit wild, but there was no doubt he had what it took to be a major leaguer, and from that point on he stayed on Houston's roster.  Tragically, Richard's first full season as a full-time starting pitcher coincided with the death of the team's ace pitcher, Don Wilson, who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning during the offseason.  He struggled at times, leading all of baseball in walks and wild pitches, but finished the season as the only Astros starter with a winning record at 12-10.  The franchise rewarded Richard by naming him their Opening Day starter for 1976, unseating Larry Dierker and setting up a breakout year.

The first start of 1976 for J.R. Richard didn't appear to be the start of something great, as the Astros lost to the defending World Series champion Cincinnati Reds, but he quickly bounced back by winning five straight games for a team that would essentially hover around .500 all year.  Even his wildness became a factor in his success, as batters were never able to dig in when facing Richard for fear of getting drilled by an errant pitch.  His ERA dipped by more than a run and a half per nine innings, and with just a week left in the season Richard's record stood at 18-15.  Perhaps motivated by a chance to reach a win total that had only been eclipsed once by a member of the Houston Astros, he gutted out two complete games over the final seven days, giving up just a single run on his way to a 20-15 season.  Only Larry Dierker had ever recorded a 20-win season and he had a front row seat to watch his teammate match his number.  Inexplicably, despite such dominant numbers and a solid start to the 1977 season, Richard was not selected to the All-Star team.  He remained exceptionally durable, not missing a start for essentially five consecutive seasons.  Although his win total only reached 18 that year, his winning percentage increased due to fewer losses, and control became less of an issue as he cut down on walks and made it through the entire season without hitting a single batter.  During the 1978 season, Richard was the Opening Day starter for the third year and despite giving up more runs as his ERA climbed over 3.00 for the first time since his rookie season he led all of baseball with 303 strikeouts.  He was just the tenth player in history and first NL right-handed pitcher to surpass 300 Ks.  In 1979 Richard beat his own record by reaching 313 strikeouts, becoming the only Astros player to date to lead the league in that stat in back-to-back years, while also reaching an MLB-best 2.71 ERA on his way to a fourth consecutive season to reach at least 18 wins.  It was also his first time to pitch for a winning team, as the Astros finished with a record of 89-73 to finish second in their division.

Heading into the 1980 season, things seemed to be going will for J.R. Richard and the Astros as he prepared to make his franchise-record fifth Opening Day start while still just 30 years old.  As if having one flame-thrower on the team wasn't enough, Houston signed Nolan Ryan that year to create one of the most intimidating rotations in baseball.  Despite plenty of success early in the year, Richard began complaining of stiffness and weakness in his forearm, shoulder, and back.  When he took himself out of a few games, rumors began to spread that he was jealous of Ryan's record-setting contract that paid $1 million per year, despite Richard himself being close behind at $850,000 and never complaining.  A 10-4 record with an ERA of 1.89 finally got Richard his first All-Star selection, but media and fans began accusing him of loafing or not having what it took to handle the pressure of winning expectations.  Even worse, some of the accusations had racial overtones.  After going just four innings in a start on July 14, during which he struggled to read signs from catcher Alan Ashby and complained of his arm going dead, the Astros placed Richard on the 21-day disabled list for the first time in his career.  Nine days later, he checked into the hospital and two obstructed arteries to his right arm were discovered.  On July 25, doctors tested the blood vessels and determined that surgery would not be required as everything appeared to be normal.  Five days later Richard went to a chiropractor in the morning for an adjustment to his neck to help improve his blood flow, but that afternoon he took the field for warmup activities and suffered a massive stroke.  Doctors saved his life with emergency surgery, but the damage had been done.  Despite working hard to recover from partial paralysis on his left side and even earning his spot back on the active roster for the Astros late in 1981, he never again took the field as a major league pitcher.  Richard managed to return to spring training for a few games and then participated in rehab during the 1982 season.  In 1983 he required surgery due to complications from his original procedure, but even though he became a free agent after the season the Astros had enough faith to sign him to one final contract.  His coordination never fully returned, however, and he was finally cut a few months later to end his career.  After baseball, a series of financial mishaps caused additional problems on the former star, including being scammed in a fraudulent business deal and having two marriages end in expensive divorce settlements.  By 1994 it was discovered that Richard had lost his home and was spending most nights sleeping under a bridge on Houston's southwest side at Highway 59 and Beechnut.  Friends rushed to his aid, he began to receive an MLB pension, and he sought help at the nearby Now Testament Church.  A minister there helped guide him through recovery, and Richard worked for an asphalt company to get back on his feet before returning to the church to serve as a minister himself.  In 2012 the Houston Astros honored him as a member of their Walk of Fame and seven years later when they had created a franchise Hall of Fame he was added to that group as well, although he has never had his number retired despite having comparable numbers to the other three pitchers who have.  Ironically, Wilson had his number retired when he died and it is likely that Richard may have had the same honor if doctors hadn't saved him.  On August 4, 2021, Richard died at the age of 71 after experiencing severe complications associated with COVID-19.

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