Astros legend J.R. Richard dead at 71
Matt Young
Houston Chronicle
August 5, 2021

(c) Houston Astros

J.R. Richard died in a Houston hospital at the age of 71 on Wednesday night.

Richard was hospitalized last month with complications from COVID-19, according to a family member.

Jose Cruz, who was Astros teammates with Richard for six seasons, said the pitcher from Louisiana was one of his good friends.

"This is very sad to hear," Cruz said in a statement released by the Astros. "I have great memories of J.R. He was one of the greatest Astros ever. When he was pitching, we knew that we were going to get a 'W.' I didn't get too many balls hit to me in the outfield when he pitched because he was so dominating. He was a great friend and a great teammate. I send my condolences to his wife and kids."

Richard, who was part of the Astros' inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2020, pitched all 10 of his big league seasons with the Astros before his career was cut short when he suffered a stroke while playing catch inside the Astrodome on July 30, 1980.

"He was one of the greatest pitchers we ever had and probably would have been in the Hall of Fame if his career was not cut short," Richard's former Astros teammate Enos Cabell said in a statement released by the team. "On the mound, he was devastating and intimidating. Nobody wanted to face him. Guys on the other team would say that they were sick to avoid facing him. This is very sad news. He will be missed."

Before the stroke, Richard was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, leading the league in strikeouts in back-to-back seasons in 1978 and 1979. In that 1979 season - when he set a franchise record with 313 strikeouts, which was broken by Gerrit Cole in 2019 - he also led the National League in ERA at 2.71.

He was on pace to have an even better season in 1980, starting the All-Star Game after going 10-4 with a 1.96 ERA in the first half of the season. Three weeks after the All-Star Game, Richard had a stroke and never pitched in the big leagues again.

Richard went 107-71 with a 3.15 ERA in his career and was a 20-game winner in 1976 and won at least 18 games in four straight seasons (1976-79). He still ranks third on the team's all-time strikeouts list behind Nolan Ryan and Roy Oswalt and is fifth in franchise history in wins.

"Today is a sad day for the Houston Astros as we mourn the loss of one of our franchise icons, J.R. Richard," the Astros said in a statement. "J.R. will forever be remembered as an intimidating figure on the mound and as one of the greatest pitchers in club history. He stood shoulder to shoulder with club icons Larry Dierker, Joe Niekro and Nolan Ryan, to form a few of the best rotations in club history. Sadly, his playing career was cut short by health issues, but his 10 years in an Astros uniform stand out as a decade of excellence. We send our heartfelt condolences to J.R.'s wife, Lula, his family, friends and countless fans and admirers."

J.R. Richard, dominant Astros righty, dies
Bill Dittmeier
Astros.com
August 5, 2021

J.R. Richard, a large and intimidating right-hander who struck out more than 600 batters over two seasons for the Astros in a 10-year career cut short by a stroke, died Wednesday at age 71.

James Rodney Richard, all 6-feet-8 of him, was drafted No. 2 overall in 1969 but despite striking out 15 batters in his first big league start, he didn't win a full-time job as a starter until 1975. For the next 5 1/2 seasons he was a dominant pitcher, winning 20 games in 1976, leading the Majors in strikeouts in 1978-79 and ERA in '79. Throwing a 100-mph fastball and a sharp breaking pitch, he also led the Majors in wild pitches three times, which made him all the more difficult to face.

"Today is a sad day for the Houston Astros as we mourn the loss of one of our franchise icons, J.R. Richard," the Astros said Thursday in recognizing Richard's death. "J.R. will forever be remembered as an intimidating figure on the mound and as one of the greatest pitchers in club history. He stood shoulder to shoulder with club icons Larry Dierker, Joe Niekro and Nolan Ryan, to form a few of the best rotations in club history. Sadly, his playing career was cut short by health issues, but his 10 years in an Astros uniform stand out as a decade of excellence. We send our heartfelt condolences to J.R.'s wife, Lula, his family, friends and countless fans and admirers."

Richard had a 107-71 record with a 3.15 ERA and 76 complete games. He won 18 or more games in four straight seasons (1976-79). In 1978, he became the first Astros pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts in a season with 303, a record he broke the following season with 313 strikeouts.

On the Astros' all-time lists, Richard ranks tied for second in career ERA (3.15), third in strikeouts (1,493), fourth in complete games (76) and fifth in wins (107) and shutouts (19). In 2019, he was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame.

In 1980, with a record of 10-4, an ERA of 1.90 and having recently been named the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game, Richard complained about a "dead" and numb pitching arm. After being placed on the disabled list, Richard collapsed while having a pregame catch on July 30. He had suffered a stroke due to a massive blockage in his right carotid artery, which required emergency surgery. He attempted a comeback that lasted until 1984; he never pitched in another big league game.

"I've known J.R. for a long time," said Enos Cabell, who was an Astros teammate for several seasons. "In the Minor Leagues, I played against him and then we were teammates with the Astros for many years. He was one of the greatest pitchers we ever had and probably would have been in the Hall of Fame if his career was not cut short. On the mound, he was devastating and intimidating. Nobody wanted to face him. Guys on the other team would say that they were sick to avoid facing him. This is very sad news. He will be missed."

"J.R. was one of my good friends," said Jose Cruz, another long-time teammate with the Astros. "This is very sad to hear. I have great memories of J.R. He was one of the greatest Astros ever. When he was pitching, we knew that we were going to get a 'W.' I didn't get too many balls hit to me in the outfield when he pitched because he was so dominating. He was a great friend and a great teammate. I send my condolences to his wife and kids."

J.R. Richard, dominant Astros righty, dies
Reid Laymance
Houston Chronicle
August 5, 2021

J.R. Richard, perhaps the most intimidating pitcher to have called the Astrodome home, has died at age 71, family members said.

Richard had been hospitalized in Houston in recent weeks with complications from COVID-19.

"Today is a sad day for the Houston Astros as we mourn the loss of one of our franchise icons, J.R. Richard," the Astros said in a statement. "J.R. will forever be remembered as an intimidating figure on the mound and as one of the greatest pitchers in club history. He stood shoulder to shoulder with club icons Larry Dierker, Joe Niekro and Nolan Ryan to form a few of the best rotations in club history. Sadly, his playing career was cut short by health issues, but his 10 years in an Astros uniform stand out as a decade of excellence. We send our heartfelt condolences to J.R.'s wife, Lula, his family, friends and countless fans and admirers."

The Astros held a moment of silence before Thursday's game against the Twins in remembrance of Richard, and his career will be recognized during Saturday's Astros Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Richard joins former teammates Joe Morgan, Bob Watson and Jimmy Wynn as Astros Hall of Famers who have died since early 2020.

Born James Rodney Richard but better known as J.R., he was the second overall pick in the 1969 draft out of Lincoln High School in Ruston, La., where he didn't surrender a run as a senior.

After less than two full seasons in the minor leagues, Richard made his Astros debut Sept. 5, 1971, at San Francisco. He certainly made it a memorable one, striking out 15 in a 1-0 shutout of the Giants.

That set the tone for a decade in which the 6-8 Richard was an imposing figure on the mound for the Astros. He struck out 1,493 batters, dominating with a fastball that reached 100 mph – rare in his day – and wicked slider.

Richard went 107-71 with a 3.15 ERA and 76 complete games for the Astros. He had a 20-win season in 1976 and won 18 or more games from 1976-79. He became the first Astros pitcher to record 300 strikeouts, with 303 in 1978, leading the majors. He broke that record with an MLB-best 313 in 1979, when he also led the National League in ERA (2.71) and finished third in the Cy Young voting to Cubs reliever Bruce Sutter and teammate Niekro. Richard is one of only six pitchers in the modern era with consecutive seasons of 300 strikeouts.

In Astros history, Richard ranks third in ERA among pitchers with at least 1,500 innings, third in strikeouts (1,493), fourth in complete games, and fifth in wins and shutouts (19). To compare his numbers to other franchise greats, Richard won more games for Houston than Nolan Ryan (106) and posted a lower ERA than Mike Scott (3.30).

In 1980, Richard became the only pitcher in franchise history to throw a shutout in three consecutive starts. By that time, he had harnessed the wildness that saw him post the three largest walks totals in club history, including a high of 151 in 1976. He walked 10 in a 1-0 shutout of the Mets in '76 – one of his three 1-0 victories that year. In 1975, he set a club record by issuing 11 walks in a game, and on April 10, 1979, he tied a major league record with six wild pitches against the Dodgers.

On July 30, 1980, Richard, working his way back from the disabled list, collapsed from an on-field stroke while working out at the Astrodome. That season, he was 10-4 with a 1.96 ERA in the season's first half, earning him the starting nod for the NL in the All-Star Game.

The stroke essentially ended his career and derailed his life for many years. He made comeback attempts in 1982 and 1983 but was unable to return to the big leagues.

His millions of dollars earned dwindled by 1994. He was dispossessed and occasionally resigned to sleeping under the Southwest Freeway overpass on Beechnut Street.

He recovered thanks to friends sheltering him, a Major League Baseball pension of $100,000 that kicked in at age 45, a stretch doing ministry, and a third marriage.

In recent years, he would share his stories through Lord of the Streets Episcopal Church as a way to give back and help others.

Richard was estranged from the Astros for several years after suing the team for malpractice for how it handled his stroke. He and the franchise later reconciled as Richard repaired his bond with the Astros through FanFest 2004 and since strengthened it as a regular at alumni and autograph appearances.

He was an inductee in the inaugural 2019 class of the Astros Hall of Fame. The team had previously inducted Richard into the Walk of Fame on Texas Avenue as part of its 50th-anniversary celebration in 2012.