J.R. Richard stricken

HOUSTON, TEXAS - On this date in 1980 Houston Astros phenom pitcher J.R. Richard was rushed to a Houston hospital after collapsing during a workout in the Astrodome. He underwent emergency surgery that night not only to try to save his pitching career, but to save his life. Doctors found a blood clot in his neck. It took 2 hours of surgery to remove.

James Rodney Richard was drafted by the Astros in 1969 out of a Vienna, Louisiana high school. He was a flame thrower, reaching speeds of 100 mph, but he was a little slow out of the gate. He came on the major league scene in 1971 and was a combined 11-6 in his first 4 seasons. His breakout year was 1976 when he went 20-15. Richard won 18 games each of the next three seasons, and was 10-4 with an ERA of 1.89 at the time of his stroke. With 303 strikeouts in 1978 he became the first National League right-hander to strikeout more than 300.

J.R. Richard's life was saved on this date in 1980 but his baseball career came to an end. Despite trying a comeback in 1981, he never played another regular season major league game. He finished his career with 107-71 and an ERA of 3.15.

According to interviews done then and since, for example in the Houston Press, J.R. Richard thinks the Astros overlooked his complaints about a tired arm and other warning signs before his stroke. Whatever precipitated it, Richard fell on bad times to the point of being homeless living under a bridge in 1994. He later straightened out his life with the help of a minister and became a minister himself working with Houston youth.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
The Tragedy of J.R. Richard, by Ben Hochman, The Sporting News, August 5, 1999
Interview with J.R. Richard

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