In saddening news, the Astros announced this afternoon that former major league pitcher J.R. Richard passed away at the age of 71. The team will hold a moment of silence in his honor before this evening’s game against the Twins.
“Today is a sad day for the Houston Astros as we mourn the loss of one of our franchise icons, J.R. Richard,” the team wrote in a statement. “J.R. will forever be remembered as an intimidating figure on the mound and as one of the greatest players in club history. … We send our heartfelt condolences to J.R.’s wife, Lula, his family, friends and countless fans and admirers.”
Richard appeared in the majors from 1971-80, spending his entire career with the Astros. Regarded as one of the most electric pitchers of his era, Richard twice led MLB in strikeouts (1978-79), exceeding 300 punch outs in both seasons. The right-hander led the National League in K/9 and FIP both years, and his 2.71 ERA over 292 1/3 innings in 1979 was the league’s best. He appeared among the top ten in NL Cy Young Award balloting in each of 1976, 1978 and 1979 and picked up some down-ballot MVP support in 1976 and 1979.
1980 was shaping up to be perhaps Richard’s best season ever. He tossed 113 2/3 frames with career-low marks in ERA (1.90) and FIP (1.94), earning his first All-Star nod in the process. Tragically, he suffered a stroke that July that prevented him from ever again appearing in the major leagues.
While Richard’s playing career was cut short, his peak was among the better ones in major league history. He’ll be remembered for his on-field accomplishments as one of the greatest pitchers in Astros’ history, as well as his community work in the Houston area later in life. We at MLBTR send our condolences to Richard’s family, friends and loved ones.
He was the Big Unit before the Big Unit. RIP.
Indeed, his career arc made him looking a very likely HOFer until the stroke.
And he was very tall.
Definitely tragic
One of the best. Took no crap from others.
One of the best. Took no crap from anyone.
I’m a HUGE fan of pitchers, and baseball history.
He was, BY FAR, the greatest pitcher to debut between Seaver & Clemens, and if they had caught the problem in time, his career numbers would have borne that out.
Only POSSIBLE competitor was Eck
Eck wasn’t in same conversation as JR was during the late 70’s and I was then, still am a Sox fan. JR just dominated for an awful Houston team, while Eck was an Ace on both tribe and later Sox staff’s. I’d put Jim Palmer as closer to him as being the “other” dominant starter of the era, but big JR was such a flame thrower, where both Palmer and Eck were finesse guys.
Eckersley was not a finesse pitcher. His fastball had a lot of movement and he had a wicked slider. His biggest asset was his 3/4 to sidearm delivery and pinpoint control. He could be very intimidating.
I’m not saying one is better than the other, but I think Sam McDowell was at least comparable to Richard. They were both similar pitchers (style and results) in their prime, at roughly the same time, and both of their careers ended tragically earlier than they should have.
McDowell hung around for a few years after his prime with the Indians, but if he hadn’t had problems with alcoholism, he could have been a hall of famer. “What if” stories like the two of them are always tragic, because they were both incredible talents.
McDowell, like J.R, wound up helping a lot of others after his baseball career ended. Sam has been a well-known rehab counselor in Western Pennsylvania, helping others in their struggle with booze.
The Giants had a few players with substance abuse issues around that period. I believe Ron Bryant also had alcohol issues.
“…2.71 ERA over 291 1/3 innings…”
That inning total is from a single season, fellas. Something to think about.
This dude was far more deserving of a title in Houston than the Trash Can Gang of 2017. The same goes for Biggio and Bagwell.
knock it off – If Biggio & Bagwell did not invariably fold under the pressure, they would have gotten one.
Current Astro powerhouse plays BETTER in the high stakes.
And, there is ZERO appreciable difference in their offensive results, 2017, 2018, 2019, and this year.
It was proven that they stole signs.
I’m SHOCKED, I tell you.
They were the best team in 2017 (after they got JV, anyway)
They and the Dodgers are, BY FAR, best teams by W/L % since opening day 2017, or 2015, for that matter.
If you wanted a ring, 2017, then it would have been advisable to out-play Astros.
*out cheat the Asterisks
Hmmm. I’m surprised no one thought of outplaying them. Hell, that’s easy!
I’m not a Dodgers fan. I actually rooted against the Dodgers in that World Series. That was before I knew about the sign-stealing scandal though.
cutting down on your hitters striking out would have been a good first step
Outplay !
Good one Jamesian
Did that roll smoothly off the keyboard or was their a small hitch to it even for you ?
I’m betting the latter
no, no hitches! 🙂
see, baseball history is FULL of players and teams taking every edge they can get – Astros (in my opinon) would have done just as well, or better, without the trashcan thing.
Of course, that’s not verifiable one way or another, but their remarkably consistent annual offensive stats since that year, and in that year, indicate that I’m probably correct
Not justifying what they did, but they stole signs at home games and had a better road record that season. The team had talent and while it helped them win a World Series it was not the reason why they did.
*out-score. Yankees actually had a chance to do that. Dodgers were shut down on their home field.
Jamesian is correct about teams trying to gain an edge any way they can. Proof: Joey Votto’s recent comments on the Astros scandal.
I believe their offensive stats were better on the road as well….not defending–just sayin’
Hey 48team, Jose Cruz and Cesar Cedeño just flipped you off
My team doesn’t play in either of the West divisions.
There’s no need to discuss the current team and what happened. This dude was the best, had a stroke, and never pitched again. Think about how hard that must have been for him and his family.
You are spot on. This is about JR, and JR alone. Reference to anything else just dilutes the recognition he deserves.
Exactly!
Biggio and Bagwell were cheaters. J.R. was just a flat-out beast. Rest in Peace, J.R. It was awesome watching you pitch.
How exactly did Bagwell or Biggio cheat? Go ahead take all the time you need but we both know that’s a lie
Ugh, when are people going to move in. The Astros have proven to be damn good since 2017, and are prob best team in AL this year.
Even if you know the pitch and location, it guarantees nothing. Half the time I think people just want to hear themselves complain.
Your parents were far more deserving than having a troll for a son. Bringing that up on an obit? Classless. Wake up.
I’m pretty sure I stated that he deserved a ring more than the Houston team that actually won…because he actually played the game the right way. He has far more honor than the 2017 team.
“Played the game the right way” – Other teams have done exactly what the Astros did, but they didn’t win the world series the year they did it. Not only that, but it wasn’t against the rules yet and they didn’t have a disgruntled player spill the beans like Fiers did to the Astros. You wanna talk about honor in baseball? Baseball lost its honor a long time ago. What the Astros did was wrong, but just remember: baseball itself has a very ugly history with very little class. Joey Votto is right: move on.
You’re missing the point. I’m not saying that Houston doesn’t deserve a title. I’m saying that their title came in the wrong era.
I got your point, but you’re missing mine: no era is a good era for the Astros because all era contained people trying to gain unfair advantages, aka no honor. Not only that, but if the Astros were good enough in the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s, they would’ve won the world series. They won in this era because they were good enough not only as a team, but also they tried to do what other people have done and they did it well: gain an unfair advantage. Move on.
I sure loved watching him pitch. Saying he was intimidating sells him short… A giant on the mound and, from all reports, a giant in the community as well.
One of the best. He took no crap from anyone
Gary R,
I’ll forth that sentiment!
One of the greatest pitchers I was ever honored to see perform. Younger fans may not know the name, but those of us who saw him will never forget how dominant he could be. If his career had not been cut short, I believe he would have been a HOFer. My heart is heavy.
First ballot HOFer. He was just freakin awesome.
For those of you who never got to see him pitch, he was amazing. If not for the health issues we would be discussing him right now as up there with Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, etc.
Yep.
I was born after he retired, but I remember watching some YouTube videos of him for some reason. Almost no chance facing him.
Thanks for the great memories. Even though he pitched against my team, there was never anything but respect for him.
Rest In Peace
One of my favorite memories of JR, was in the 1980 All Star game at Dodger Stadium. Late afternoon and the shadows over the plate, and 100 mph fastball coming in, and sometimes not exactly accurately. He was from the area of Louisiana where I grew up.
“and sometimes not exactly accurately”
“That’s my secret, Cap.”
youtube.com/watch?v=4IF2atIO6qE
here’s that game – start at the 24:50 mark
youtube.com/watch?v=ZpxH__cvMKI
Thanks, a little wild ….just waiting on the shade to take care of Reggie..
And 100 at 6’8”
RIP J. R. Richard. He was one of a kind. Big, tough, imposing, intimidating and very good at his craft. No telling how much more he could have accomplished until the health issues that unfortunately ended his career.
What a great player would of been even better without the his health issues… What a sad day for the Astros Franchise praying for his family and friends… Rest In Peace J.R Richard
To have a stroke at 30 and keep the engine running until 71, is a feat in itself.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Yup. More years post stroke than pre stroke. That just never happens
No kidding. Absolutely amazing that he hung in as long as he did. I’m not too knowledgeable on his life. Hopefully he had a fulfilling life after the stroke, as fulfilling as can be expected anyways.
J.R. Richard will always be the definition of “what might have been”. R.I.P.
Such sad news. He was an ace of aces before the stroke. I treasure the baseball he autographed for me. Rest in power.
I was around that year, paying close attention. That last month, prior to his stroke, was so weird for press, fans, team, and JR.
here are his game logs, 1980
baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=richaj.0…
here’s the All Star game that year. His final start was 5 days after that. Start at 24:56, they discuss the issue at some length, “he has been experiencing stiffness in his right forearm”, and he will consult medical before he leaves L.A.
Kind of, I don’t know – chilling? heart breaking? – to hear them discussing that a few days before his last start ever. Stroke on 7/30 means he missed at least 3 starts, after his 7/14 outing
youtube.com/watch?v=ZpxH__cvMKI
JR was a beast during his time….I was mesmerized as a small kid flipping over his 1980 baseball card to see 313 K’s only to be pointed out that it was more remarkable that he did it pitching 292 innings. We will never see pitchers reach that many innings anymore
Niekro did pitch more that year at 342 which is unreal too.
He always looked as if he could play linebacker for the Houston Oilers rather than the Houston Astros. He had huge hands and could grip 5 or more baseballs in one hand. The Astros were having a resurgence, and the stroke sadly delayed that until 1986.
If he had stayed healthy and you added him to Mike Scott and Nolan Ryan in that 86 rotation…man that could of been something special.
During his final half-season in 1980, the Astros had Richard and Ryan with knuckleballing 20-game winner Joe Niekro in-between. They added Don Sutton and Bob Knepper a year later when Ryan had his 1.69 ERA year. It could have been an all-time great rotation. The ’81 strike season. Starter ERAs apart from Ryan were Niekro (2.82), Sutton (2.61), Knepper (2.18) and Vern Ruhle (2.91). Imagine adding Richard to that? Ryan’s fastball, Richard’s slider, Sutton’s curveball, and Niekro’s knuckler….with Joe Sambito and Dave Smith both lights-out in the bullpen.
I would not have wanted to step in the box against them.
As a die hard Dodger fan since 1973, JR Richard was maybe the last pitcher I ever wanted them to face. He was awesome when healthy. Very sorry to hear of his passing. Anyone was around to watch baseball during the late 70s can tell you how great he was.
He owned those great Dodgers teams of the ’70s. Started against them 24 times (4 relief appearances): 15-4, 1.86 with 218 strikeouts and just 124 hits allowed in 208 innings. His slider was just unfair.
Very sad. RIPJR
Growing up in South LA in the late 60s-early 70s, you caught the Astros and Cardinals on AM radio, and he was as intimidating as any pitcher in the NL. A true class act. May he rest in peace.
He was a Terrific Pitcher!
They don’t make em like him anymore .
Another great pitcher gone over these last couple of years.
I hope that younger commenters here understand that us older folks are not exaggerating or yelling at clouds when we say how great of a pitcher J.R. Richard was. 100 MPH fastballs were a rarity back then, but he touched 100 regularly. Much like Nolan Ryan, it took Richard a number of years to improve his control, and when he did, he was absolutely deadly to face. He was up there with any great pitcher from any era, yet because his career ended so abruptly and unfortunately many have no idea who he was, and that’s an absolute shame. I’m pleased to read that he was as great off of the field as he was on it. Thanks for the memories and R.I.P.
Monkey’s Uncle. I saw him. As hard as he threw, the slider might have been his best pitch. Not only could the Dodgers not hit him, but they knew they couldn’t hit him. In the 1980 NLCS, the Astros led the Phillies two games to one. before losing in five games. Had Richard not went down, that season might have ended differently.
@Monkey’s, very true. I was in Houston working during his playing career and the company I worked for had season tickets to the ‘Stros. Was able to see several games he pitched during that time. Truly a sad day for the Houston family.
I envy both of you. I’ve only seen videos after the fact, as 1980 was right when I was just old enough to follow baseball and understand what was going on. I wish I could have seen him live, but I’ve watched a lot of footage of him pitching and will do so again. Cey, you’re so right that those 1980 Astros could have been a different story with a healthy JR, and you’re also right in your previous post imagining how great those later Houston rotations could have been with Ryan, Scott, Sutton, Joe Niekro, plus Knepper, Ruhle, Sambito, Smith… yikes.
Monkey’s Uncle, While I am a Dodger fan, I will concede that my team shouldn’t have been awarded a playoff berth in ’81. Over the full season in the NL West, it was:
Reds 66-42
Dodgers 63-47
Astros 61-49.
A shame the season didn’t play out in its entirety. A funny personal story about that. Despite being a Dodger fan, I had blown off baseball due to my disgust over the work stoppage. I was in college radio at the time and was devoting all of my attention to the station, where I was program director. I didn’t watch the first two games of the World Series, which were won by the Yankees. The night of game three, I accompanied a station mate to an exclusive NYC cable TV party where she would be interviewing the night’s entertainment, Wall of Voodoo. The game was on in the background on wide screens like I’d never seen before. I got bored after the interview and spent the rest of the night watching Fernando pitch the Dodgers to a win, which got me back into baseball.
That’s an awesome story, thank you Cey. “Fernando-mania” made a lot of people become baseball fans around that time, but I also remember that a whole lot of people were really turned off by that strike and it took a long time for many to return to the game, and some didn’t at all. Coincidentally radio is a field that I wish I had gotten into, and one of the reasons is that you could potentially end up having experiences just like that one.
Monkey’s Uncle, I did professional radio briefly as a summer fill-in on a country station in New Jersey. I quit after one air shift. After college radio, I couldn’t handle playing records from a pre-printed playlist. That one air shift is the only time I ever got paid for doing radio. Decades later, I had a show on an Internet station for seven years. It was a blast. No more radio. Just mixtapes, which are kinda like radio shows but with no DJ.
A tiny bit more to the 1981 story. My friend was to interview Wall of Voodoo after they played. During their set, we watched them from backstage. The band told us to help ourselves to some beer, which was in a tub of ice. We got a little carried away and drank all of their beer, which band leader Stannard Ridgway scolded us for before the interview. Weird for me because I wasn’t a particularly heavy drinker.
Also, my friend knew a lot of people on the NYC music scene. One such person was John Cale, who we hung out with after the interview. Lots of empty and partially empty beer bottles throughout the room. Cale schooled us on a favorite activity of his: finding a discarded bottle with beer still inside and finishing it off. The grossness is what ultimately led me to going off on my own and watching the game. So, I guess I owe these past four decades of Dodger fandom to John Cale.
RIP big dog 🙁
RIP to one of the most entertaining pitchers of his era and my youth. Always was eager to watch his games against the Cubs on WGN after school.
Should be a HOF er
The 80s would have had more great pitching duels. Him vs Gooden or Venezuela. Those would have been great to watch. Rip JR
RIP JR! RIP!
@ Cey Hey LOL – 1982, I think it was, might have been ’83, I TOOK Wall of Voodoo to game in the Astrodome, against Dodgers, on dad’s company season tix, field boxes – one of the things I liked about them was, they were so NORMAL for music dudes – fishing, baseball, “Me and my Dad” Stan Ridgeway sang. In exchange, they let me and my friends into any show they played, Houston, Austin, DFW.
Saw them MANY times, and originally met them at a kinda punky dump of a bar called Rudyard’s, in Houston.
RIP to one hell of a pitcher. During his prime, he was just about as scary to face as Nolan Ryan was, if not more so. In 1980, if he had not been felled with a stroke, he and Nolan Ryan along with Joe Niekro most likely would’ve brought Houston a non-tainted WS Championship. Prayers to his family and friends.
What an arm.
He had some extraordinary years to only make a single ASG in his career…
RIP JR
I remember when Richards had the stroke. The 1980 Astros were well into the race and ultimately finished first in the AL West. Not knowing Richards was about to have and then had a stroke, Bill Virdon and the Astros front office publicly called Richards out for asking time off his last couple of sets in the rotation.
Richards was living under a bridge not long after.
MLB had a lot of great pitchers back then….but, for all the greatness they had, there was only ONE I would go out of my way to watch EVERY time I had a chance to on TV…and that was J R Richard. He was an absolute joy to watch. I only wish I’d had the chance to see him in person…
RIP JR…..Good to know you’ll be pitching again upstairs…
interesting paragraph from wikipedia
“On July 30, Richard went to see a chiropractor who rotated his neck to fix the flow of blood in his upper torso region. Later that day, Richard was participating in warm-ups before the game when he suffered a major stroke and collapsed in the outfield. Before the stroke, he had a headache and a feeling of weakness through his body. Eventually, that progressed into vision problems and paralysis in the left side of his body.[80] A massive blockage in his right carotid artery necessitated emergency surgery that evening. An examination by neurologist William S. Fields showed that Richard was still experiencing weakness in his extremities and on the left side of his face. He also had blurred vision through his left eye. A CAT scan of Richard’s brain later showed that Richard had experienced three separate strokes from the different obstructions in his arterial system. Furthermore, the arteries in his right arm were still obstructed.[81] Later examinations showed that Richard was suffering from extensive arterial thoracic outlet syndrome. While pitching, his clavicle and first rib pinched his subclavian artery.[82] As a result of this problem, Richard would feel normal for the first few innings of the game but after putting repeated pressure on his subclavian artery, his arm would start to ache in pain and eventually start to feel “heavy”.”
Wow! That’s heavy.
And while it was happening, he was being verbally assaulted. One of his teammates, I don’t remember which, claimed J.R. was faking his illness.
The teammate saw J.R. eating fried chicken and announced that if J.R. were really sick he wouldn’t be able to eat fried chicken. Soon after, he had the stroke.
Just a reminder of why we should respond to others with love and compassion rather than meanness or hate.
Great memories of J.R. I was so saddenedthat a young, gifted athlete was felled by a stroke so young. And now this. RIP J.R.
Again, from Wikipedia – IF true, we’re talking Greek Tragedy material
“Nine days later, he checked into Methodist Hospital in Houston for a series of physical and psychological tests to determine the cause of his mysterious arm problems. An angiogram revealed an obstruction in the distal subclavian and axillary arteries of the right arm. Richard’s blood pressure in his left arm was normal but pressure was nearly absent in his right arm due to the completely obstructed artery.[79] On July 25, however, the arteries in his neck were studied, and the doctors reached a conclusion that all was normal and no surgical treatment needed to be performed”
Growing up he was my favorite pitcher, even though I was a Reds fan living in Cincinnati. JR had absolutely dominant stuff and he was a pleasure to watch every time he took the mound. Rest In Peace JR and thanks for the memories
So sad. RIP JR. I hope he rests easily and mows them down on the mound in the sky.
It was an electric event for me to watch J.R. on WGN or other occasional telecasts. I wasn’t an Astros fan but my goodness, J.R. left me in awe with his size, speed, and domination. He was “must-see” pitching. Thanks for the memories, J.R. Rest in peace and Godspeed to your family.
Very saddened to hear about this. He was one of the most intimidating pitchers to ever take the mound. RIP.
I never saw him pitch but at the height of his powers every one says he was every bit as dominant as Ryan was.
He was down right intimidating and his stuff was outstanding. Loved to watch him pitch.
One of the all time great quotes was back when Jack Clark had come over to the Yankees and played his first game vs. the Red Sox. In the locker room, a reporter asked him, “Who throws harder? JR Richard or Roger Clemens?”
Without hesitating, Clark answered, “Nooooobody throws harder than Nolan Ryan.”
RIP JR Richard