"A World Series record-setter with 12 RBIs, including a grand slam in the third game. Quiet and efficient, Richardson is an excellent pivot man at second base and is steady game after game. He hit .301 to lead the club in 1959 but slumped to .252 in '60.
Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Richardson came to the Yankees in 1955, not playing daily until '57. A slap-hitter who is adroit at pushing the ball into right field, he was voted most valuable in last year's Series."
-Don Schiffer, The Major League Baseball Handbook 1961
RUNS DRIVEN IN - BY TRUCK
Wrestling Wheel Developed Richardson's Arm Muscle
"Trucking firms can expect a rash of requests for winter employment from undersize ball players when the little men learn how Bobby Richardson developed his arm power.
Richardson, a runt among the hulking brutes who hold most of the World Series smash-crash records, now towers over all other knockers-in of runs in one set.
It wasn't that trucking taught 165-pound Bobby to be a violent hit-run driver. Rather, wrestling with the wheel developed the arm muscle he needed to put more authority into his batting swing.
There were other better and easier jobs available to the quiet, intelligent young man from Sumter, S.C., but Bobby chose to spend two recent winters as a truck jockey.
'It did strengthen my arms,' said Bobby. 'Of course, it didn't turn me into a big power man. I'm really not a home run hitter.'
First to deny Richardson's self-appraisal would be Clem Labine, rocked by Bobby's jackpot home run in the third game of the Series.
Bobby had long before developed the leg power and hand skill that brought him to the big leagues. He likes to exercise so much that he used to walk from the hotel to the ball park before road games when he was with Denver of the American Association.
Richardson is devoted not only to physical culture, but also to mental and moral culture- especially moral. The Bible accompanies him on all trips.
No World Series batter ever struck more blows for the clean-living, non-alcoholic, denicotinized way of life than Bobby with his record 12 RBI's.
Even the men who authored the 'book' on Yankee hitters recognized Bobby's brave approach to hitting chores under pressure and admit he would have had four more hits if that many vicious line drives hadn't been within reach of infielders.
Still, they feel constrained to point out that Richardson had the astonishing cooperation of Pittsburgh pitchers. Maybe some of the Pirate tossers weren't paying attention when Pittsburgh spies were going over the Yankee batters. Or maybe they can't read. Certainly the 'book' on Yankee hitters appeared in enough publications, including one of the Pittsburgh newspapers.
The general analysis of Richardson was: 'Spray hitter. Not much power, but can hurt you if you pitch him high.'
Forewarned, Pirate pitchers could have been expected to curb the occasional power of a comparative midget who hadn't hit a home run since April 18 and who had driven in just seven runs since the mid-season break for the All-Star Games. Figuring Bobby's major league times at bat, odds against a homer by him were 485 to 1.
Yet he not only stroked a grand slam, but also tied the Series record of two triples in one game on the way to his rich RBI production. How come?
Howie Haak was one of the Pirate agents who scouted the Yankees late in the American League season. He helped prepare the dossier on their hitters. We showed Howie one publication's analysis of Richardson to find out if it could possibly be right.
'Exactly right,' said the forthright Howie. 'Exactly right. Pitch him low and he'll never hurt you.
'Oh, he'll hit a high pitch now and then, but only if it's out away from him. You gotta keep it high and tight.' And Howie illustrated by passing his hand across his solar plexus.
'Our men have been pitchin' him upside down- or maybe downside up.'
Labine, whose sinker used to short-circuit Yankee power frequently when he was a Dodger relief worker, was the startled victim of Bobby's four-run homer as well as his first triple in the sixth game.
'Clem knows how to pitch him, all right,' said Haak, whose regular job is finding young talent for the Pirates. 'He's a low ball pitcher, too- practically everything down around the knees.
'But, for some reason, Clem wasn't able to keep his pitches down in the last Series. On Richardson's homer, he came in with a high pitch on a three-two count.
'On that triple, Clem tried to curve him, but the curve hung.'
How about the second triple, when Tom Cheney had become the target in the shooting gallery?
'Oh, that guy,' said Howie. 'He just throws- he doesn't know where the ball is going.' "
-Bill Bryson, Baseball Digest, March 1961
1960
April 30: Hits home run, double and single in rout of Orioles.
May 6: Beats A's with single, stolen base and run scored.
June 26: Beats Indians, 4-2, with single, double, two RBIs.
July 2: Ties Tigers with RBI single; Yanks win.
September 17: Beats Orioles, 5-2, with two-run double.
-Joe Sheehan, Dell Sports Magazine Baseball, April 1961
"Last season was a strange one for Bobby Richardson. His hitting was off 49 points from his 1959 club-leading .301 average. Then came the World Series! The Sumter, South Carolina native, who served last winter as Executive Secretay of the local YMCA, suddenly became a tiger at bat. He hit .367; became one of seven men in history to hit a Series grand slam homer; established World Series records in RBIs for a Series (12) and one game (6); and accomplished so much against the Pirates that he was awarded the Sport Magazine Corvette car as the outstanding performer in the Series.
Bobby hopes to carry all this over into the 1961 season. He had two fine campaigns for Ralph Houk in Denver in 1955 and '56. Ralph wants Bobby to develop into a good leadoff batter, get more walks and do more on the bases. If he does, it will be a fine Yankee year."
-The New York Yankees Official 1961 Yearbook
Robert Clinton Richardson Jr. (2B) #1
Born August 19, 1935, in Sumter, South Carolina where he resides. Height: 5-9, weight: 169. Bats right, throws right.
Married and father of two boys, Robert (3) and Ronald Owens (2), and one girl, Christine (3 months).
-The New York Yankees Official 1961 Yearbook
6 RBIS IN IN GAME 3
"The big little man of the Series, Bobby Richardson held a bat appropriately marked '6' after the Yankee second baseman set a new Series record of six RBIs in the third game. In this game he hit a grand slam homer, only the seventh in Series history.
He also topped all previous records by driving in 12 men in the Series and tied the triples mark for one game (2) and the record for most runs scored in a series (8). All this won Bobby the Sport Magazine Corvette as the outstanding World Series performer."
-The New York Yankees Official 1961 Yearbook
"Bobby Richardson's average slipped from .301 in 1959 (when he was the only Yankee regular to reach the .300 level) to .252 last summer, but the Sumter, South Carolina, native was still rated one of the American League's top infielders.
The Bombers' regular second baseman is one of the best glove men in the business and can fill in at short and third when needed. This will be the 25-year-old right-handed hitter's seventh season with the Yankees and his third as a firstliner.
Only 5' 9", Bobby broke in with Norfolk of the Piedmont League in 1953. He was also with Olean that season and compiled a .412 batting mark in 32 Pony League contests. A .310 sophomore year, with Binghamton of the Eastern League, moved him to triple-A company in 1955 at the age of 19.
Richardson hit American Association pitching for a .296 mark and moved from Denver to New York in August. After 11 American League contests he was sent to Richmond of the International League. The 166-pounder managed to smack out 10 homers while compiling a .328 mark at Denver in 1956. He had 52 extra-base hits and 73 runs batted in with the Bears and then returned to New York, this time to stay.
Bobby has pretty fair power for his size, is a fine bunter and one of the club's better base runners. His ability to draw bases on balls makes him a fine leadoff batter.
Little Bobby got his name in the record books last fall. His six runs batted in (October 8) were a World Series record for a single game and his Series total of 12 also topped the old mark. In addition, he and Mickey Mantle each tied a Series record by scoring eight times.
New York's second sacker is the father of two boys. His hobby is hunting."
-New York Yankees 1961 Yearbook (Jay Publishing Co.)
"The only Yankee to play every game until the pennant was clinched, Bobby Richardson enjoyed a fine season as the Yankees' second baseman in 1961. He was the pivotman in the double-play combination that gave New York major league leadership in double plays. He also topped the club in total hits (173) and had a career high in RBIs (49).
The 1960 season was a strange one for Bobby. His hitting was off 49 points from his 1959 club-leading .301 average. Then came the World Series of 1960. The Sumter, S.C. native suddenly became a tiger at bat. He established World Series records for runs batted in for a series (12) and for one game (6) while hitting .367 for the Series. He accomplished so much against the Pirates that he was awarded the SPORT Magazine Corvette as the outstanding performer in the Series.
Richardson had two fine seasons for Ralph Houk at Denver in 1955 and 1956.
The 5-9, 169-pound right-handed hitter is married and the father of two boys and a girl."
-1961 World Series Official Souvenir Program
