The Houston Astros confirmed that J.R. Richard, one the most fearsome pitchers in history of baseball, had died Wednesday. He was 71 years old.AdvertisementJames Rodney Richard was 6-foot-8 and weighed a hefty 222 pounds when he reached his peak with the Houston Astros. His fastball was overpowering, at reportedly 100 mph. He also had a slider that was 94 mph. It was enough to make any at-bat uncomfortable. Richard was the National League's leader in strikeouts with 303 in 1978 and 313 in 1979. Nolan Ryan was signed by the Astros to partner with Richard before the 1980 season.Richard was the dominant player that season, not Ryan. Richard was well on his way to a possible Cy Young-winning season. He went 10-4 with a 1.90 ERA. Richard was also selected to be the All-Star Game's starting pitcher.He had complained about fatigue. Richard, a workhorse who threw 291 innings and played 19 complete games in 1979. He had only four games in 1980. Rumours circulated that Richard was a dogging teammate. These whispers were proved unfounded when he suffered a stroke in July.His autobiography Still Throwing heat: Strikeouts on the Streets and a Second Chance is available:I was never able to understand the Astros' approach. If I was so important to the Astros and I began to say I had problems and wasnt feeling right, why didn't they immediately send me to a doctor? Teams are now more open to these situations, particularly with pitchers. To be safe, they would take you out of the game. Enos Cabell (my teammate) thought it was racial. Enos Cabell said that African Americans were known to have played with pain in order to keep their jobs. It was a bizarre scenario, though it makes sense. I was searching for a good attorney for some time. I was willing to hire someone. If I had hired an lawyer, I would have said, "Look at all this." Sue everyone. I would have taken $1 million.AdvertisementRichard, then 30, never pitched again. He did make a brief spring training return attempt in 1984. This was only the beginning of his problems. He was a victim of two divorces and made poor investments that left him homeless.Many would recognize this former star, who lived beneath the Highway 59 overpass at Beechnut Road in Houston.AdvertisementWith the support of his local church, he was able to put his life back together and became a minister, remarried, and became an advocate for the homeless.Richard was the inaugural Astros Hall of Fame member. His career record was 107-71, with a 3.15 ERA (and 1.493 strikeouts).
