As a kid falling in love with baseball, I was in awe of JR and his stuff. He was mesmerizing and my favorite pitcher, period. When he had his stroke, it hit very close to home because my mother had a stroke while giving birth to my sister. To this day, she is paralyzed on her left side but she has not let that deter her from living and enjoying her life. It broke my heart when JR was struck. He was one of the main reasons baseball became my favorite sport, hands-down. I wish him the best.
I grew up in North Carolina, a state without a team, where the majority of people were Braves fans. The Astros became my favorite team (I picked them when I was five because I liked the uniforms, and have been fiercely loyal for 27 years now)and I worshipped J.R. As a child, I never realised he had a tremendous slider; I just knew he threw hard and won. I was devastated when the stroke happened, when you are young you think everything is everlasting. As I grew older my love of the game turned into knowledge, gained by careful watching of many games and listening to ex-ballplayers call the games on ESPN, and nothing would give me more joy than when Joe Morgan or Hawk and Wimpy for the Sox would some how end up on the topic of the man from Lousiana. There is always a deep reverence in the voice of one who saw or faced J.R. And then a moment of silence, when a memory of a man almost unbeleivabe in talent flits before their eyes, and thoughts of what would have been... I was fortunate enough to see J.R. along with my other favorite player, Al Oliver in the old timers game. When J.R. came in, he threw smoke a couple of times. I recall the announcers saying something to the effect that he looked like he could still play. If there's any doubt to my devotion to J.R., my brother gave me a Ty Cobb tobacco card when I was 10 that was in pristine condition, which he had found in a old abandoned house. I promptly went to a card show and traded it for a rookie J.R. card, plus every other card of his I could get my hands on. Not the best economics, but I have great memories when I look at my J.R. collection. And I still remember spending hours on the field, dreaming I was 6'8, blowing away the oppostion... There is no question his number should be retired. I'm shocked to learn it is not. I cried when Sports Illustrated did a "what if" issue, and showed a hall of fame plaque of J.R. Richard. His numbers, which are fantastic are just a shadow of his potential. I now live within an hour and a half of Chicago, and always go to watch my Astros defeat the Cubs at leat once a year (They are 13-0 when I attend). One day I talked to a Houston business man who knew several people in the organisation. I had seen the 20/20 spot they had done on him being homeless and living under a bridge, and he said that he'd met J.R., and he was talking about how they were going to make a movie of his life. He mentioned that he was kind of a mess, and guys like Ashby didn't really care for him. You don't have to marry someone to appreciate them as a ballpalyer, and J.R. should be remembered on his merit, and what he did for our organisation. If the Astros don't pay him tribute, they should be ashamed. I for one pay him tribute every year in my thoughts and words, for I would have never been an Astros fan for so long without J.R. Richard. And when I talk baseball memories while watching a game with friends or strangers, I'll ask if they remember J.R., tell his story, and then go quiet, as those wispy memories slide before my wet eyes.
Well, I must say it was tough growing up a mere 20 minutes away from Shea Stadium and being an Astros fan, but that was the case for me. The first game I ever went to was a Mets/Astros game in 1978 when I was 9 years od. That was the day I became an Astros fan. JR Richard was on the mound, and Terry Puhl.....well he gave me a ball & a game used bat, and well, that swayed me. I remember vividly in 1980 watching JR start the All Star game. I was sitting in my aunt's living room going crazy whnever JR struck someone out. I was wearing my Astros hat, and the "ugly rainbow" shirt. Then what a week later.....JR was felled by a stroke. I remember my Dad breaking the news to me, and I was very upset, but had to play a little league game the next day. I wrote in black marker on the white portion of my Pony cleats JR50, an thenwent out and went 3-5 with 2 HR's I too agree, JR's #50 should be retired by the Astros, and I would LOVE to be there when that day happens. To this day I am still an Astros fan, and being a NYC Policeman(for almost 10 yrs), it gets to be fun arguing with the Mets fan. If anyone wants to talk Astros baseball, or if you know how I can get in touch with JR..please email me raceinthestreet@aol.com Billy
I'm thirty-five years old and I've lived my entire life in northern California. I grew up playing little league and stopped playing after varsity baseball in high school. I grew up watching baseball on television in the 70's and 80's and in his prime, I remember J.R. Richard as the most dominate pitcher I had ever watched - he had an amazing fastball and presence on the mound. The Astros should definitely honor him by retiring his jersey. Bob Holden
Everytime he took the mound...the best Astro pitcher ever - period!
as an avid expos fan since the 1970's, i have seen a lot of great pitcher(ryan, carleton, pedro, randy johnson); but in my opinion the scarest and most gifted pitcher of them all was jr richard..if he had the teams johnson, carleton or roger clemens had he would been the best ever--period keith connolly halfway point newfoundland canada
I grew up a tried and true, through and through Dodger fan. There was noone more dominating than JR. His last year he was eating the entire league alive. All Dodger fans wrote off any start by JR with the Astros.
He was and still is my favorite baseball pitcher. The image of J.R. striking out Reggie Jackson at the All-Star game is forever embedded in my memory. It was one of the greatest moments in baseball history. J.R. would be an incredible asset as a pitching coach in the major leagues. I would be surprised if he doesn't coach a major league team in the next 5 to 10 years.
I have two favorite J.R. Richard memories. The first one is of J.R. setting the major league record for wild pitches in one game. His slider was just incredible that night. I think it was in the 1980 season against the Dodgers. The Astros were ahead by one run late in the game and J.R. walked Davey Lopes and Bill Russell to lead off the inning. He then threw a wild pitch to Steve Garvey and both runners advanced a base. J.R. then proceeded to strike out Garvey, Ron Cey, and Dusty Baker to leave the runners at 2nd and 3rd. The Astrodome fans went nuts. My other favorite memory also involved the Dodgers and J.R.. IN the 1979 season Joe Niekro made the All-Star game and Tommy Lasorda who managed the National League All-Star team did not use Niekro in the game. The first series after the All-Star game was the Dodgers at Houston. The Astro fans were all over Lasorda and on the Saturday night game the teams got into a beanball war. A brawl broke out and Dusty Baker was trying to start a fight with Joe Sambito who was trying to calm Dusty down and not have to fight him and risk a possible injury. J.R. came up behind Dusty and grabbed him in a bear hug and Dusty got real docile when he saw who had ahold of him. Nobody ever charged the mound when J.R. Richard was pitching. D ru
Had not fate stepped in and destoyed J R Richards carrer, he would have pitched himself into the Hall Of Fame. Mr. Richard deserves the respect he has earned. My message is to the Houston Astros and Major League Baseball: Mr. Richard poured his heart and soul into every game he pitched. Check the stats. he was awsome. Do not turn your back on him now. Retire his number with respect and honor. Induct him into the Hall of Fame. Let the man know that the great feats he acomplished were not in vain. Let the man teach these younger pitchers, his knowlage is priceless. It is a shame that a great pitcher can be swept under the carpet and forgoten. DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN Gary, Michigan
J.R. is a good friend of mine. We enjoy fishing together on occasion. White Bass is our main objective. He's a big man with a heart just as big. He lived through some things that I'm not sure that I could have. Forrest Wilkinson
I remember going to the Dome for a game, and walking down to the dugout to get autographs. JR signed a card for me and I thought that was the coolest thing. I felt like someone punched me in the gut when they ran a crawler at the bottom of the screen during afternoon programming the day he had his stroke. Man, he could bring the heat.
I was born in 1972 and I can say I never saw the man pitch. I however am a Baseball lover who studies stats and everything else. I collect baseball cards and I can remember back in 1982 Topps ( a card company) came out with a card that featured JR on it so I was reading stats. At that time my brother was always challenging me to find some one with better numbers in era and strike outs then Nolan Ryan and I came across his card and said WOW look at this guy. We were both amazed we went to my father and he was telling us the JR story of his playing days of how he had watched him pitch live in Cincinatti and he said the ball was just a blip he was throwing it that hard. He said he could have been the best ever if his career was not cut short by his stroke. To this day I am a huge JR fan and am glad to see he is doing well. My prayers are with him and I say this. If the Astros will not retire his number that is fine, but know this we all know who the most dominating pitcher in that era was and it was not ryan, carlton, or seaver it was the original JR "Rocket" Richard and the #50 will go down as one of the greatest numbers ever wore.
I remember seeing J.R. on TV in his first major-league start, when he struck out 15 San Francisco Giants, including Willie Mays three (at least) times. I once met him in the Astros' clubhouse when he was trying to come back from his stroke. He was sitting on a table, but when he stood up, he was the most physically imposing person I had ever seen up-close. When we shook hands, his fingers seemed to go halfway up my arm. I can only imagine how scary it must have been to face him as a hitter. But he was very nice on our meeting, and signed an autograph with a Bible passage from Philippians (I don't recall the chapter and verse).
I remember that when I was in high school in the seventies and early eighties, J.R. was the individual who always came through for that team of mine in hitting and in pitching. To me, he was the best all around pitcher ever. He should definitely have his uniform retired and I am ashamed that I never knew his entire story until now. I am a retired Navy Veteran and have not even kept up with baseball for years. Thank you J.R. for making my younger years exciting with your baseball talent. I will pray for any illnesses you still may have. God Bless and Take care, John Hackfield
when JR RICHARD pitched against tom seaver he struck out george foster 4 times in that game and johnny bench 2 times and ended the game with 15 so's and when he struck out 13 phillies i was at the game if he would have been the third pitcher the year we made the playoffs against the phillies we would have won the world series that year with a starting four like nolan ryan jr richard joe niekro and vern ruhle up and coming forkball the phillies would not had stood a chance and a less the royals and the year with nolan ryan mike scott and jr richard and bob knepper we would would had smeared them this man had the most incredible breaking ball no one has seen he was the man God bless him