Bobby Richardson

Robert Clinton Richardson
Born: August 19, 1935 in Sumter, S.C.
Debut: 1955 | Pos: 2B
H: 5'9" | W: 170 | B: R | T: R

>> Visit the Bobby Richardson biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

   Another Yankee earned the nickname, "Mr. October," for his World Series heroics. A look at the history of the organization and Reggie Jackson might have been paying tribute to the Yankees' original, "Mr. World Series."

   Bobby Richardson hit above .300 only twice in his career, but he had a habit of saving his most memorable performances for the times his team needed them in the World Series.

   During the 1960 World Series, Richardson put together one of the greatest single innings of offense in the history of baseball. In an inning, he hit a two-run single and followed it up with a grandslam. Richardson drove in 12 runs in that World Series and won the World Series MVP honor. The Yankees, however, lost to the Pirates, 4-3.

   During the 1961 series, Richardson collected nine hits to lead all series batters with a .391 average.

   In the 1962 fall classic, Richardson is best remembered for making a diving catch of a line drive by Willie McCovey. The catch ended the game and series and kept the tying and go-ahead runs stuck on the bases.

   In the 1964 series, Richardson again made his mark. This time, Richardson set a series record with 13 hits. In his career, Richardson finished with a  .305 average in 36 World Series games along with a home run and 15 runs batted in.

   Not all of his accomplishments were reserved for the World Series. In 1961, Richardson broke Nellie Fox's string of Gold Gloves at second base in the American League and captured the first of what would be five consecutive Gold Gloves. Richardson was also a fixture in the All-Star Game, appearing in 1957, '59 and from  '62-'66.

   Richardson set a Yankees' record in 1962 when he recorded 692 at-bats. He also was the leader in the American League that season with 209 hits.  The 1962 season accounted for the most productive of Richardson's career. He hit .302, had 8 home runs, 59 runs batted in and 11 stolen bases.

   Following his retirement from baseball, Richardson became a college baseball coach.