"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: J.R. RICHARD

Today on the blog, we go and add J.R. Richard to my future custom "Classic Baseball" set, which I hope to release in five series in the near future as a "monster" WTHBALLS set on high-end card stock:

Just a wonderful image of the fire-balling Astros ace flashing that great smile as he tortured National League batters with his overpowering stuff.

Richard was just becoming the great formidable pitcher mowing down N.L. batters around the time this photo was taken.

From 1976 to 1979, Richard was down-right nasty, striking out 200 or more batters, including 300+ in both 1978 and 1979 (leading the N.L. in K's each time), as well as posting 18 or more wins and 3+ shutouts each season. 

1980 was shaping up to be more of the same, as Richard was 10-4 with a 1.90 E.R.A. and 119 K's through only 113.2 innings.

But on July 30th, 1980, while playing a game of catch before a game, Richard suffered a stroke that ended his career in an instant, requiring emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot in his neck.

Though he tried a comeback once he recovered, the stroke caused enough damage to prevent him from ever playing in another Major League game.

A tragic end to one of the most promising careers in the Majors at the time.

It would have been incredible to see Richard team up with new Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan and see how many K's they could have racked up.

That would have been some 1-2 punch to watch through the 1980s, but sadly we did not have the pleasure.

Rest in Peace J.R.

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

Good day all!

On the blog today, we have the top three National League strikeout pitchers of 1978 proudly displayed on a 1979 “expanded league leader” card, featuring three studs of the mound:

 

We begin with Houston Astros ace J.R. Richard, who had himself quite a season in 1978, reaching the 300 strikeout plateau for the first time with 303 total over 275.1 innings of work.

Richard was just getting better and better at this point, reaching the 300 strikeout mark after two seasons of 214, winning 18 games each year between 1977 and 1979 with a 20-win season in 1976.

He was a beast on the mound, and would follow up his 1978 campaign with an even better 1979 season, striking out 313 batters while leading the league with a 2.71 earned run average while completing 19 of his 38 starts, throwing 292.1 innings.

I cannot even imagine how the 1980’s could have gone for him had not a tragic stroke strike him during the 1980 season, ending his career just like that.

In second place with 248 strikeouts, the 1977 K-leader in the N.L., Atlanta Braves pitcher Phil Niekro, who started 42 games while completing 22 of them, both league high marks, as well as his whopping 334.1 innings.

He went 19-18 with a very nice 2.88 ERA, tossing four shutouts and even winning the first of his five Gold Gloves, this at the age of 39! Amazing.

In third place with 226 strikeouts, a man who at that point was already a five-time K-King, Cincinnati Reds ace Tom Seaver, who had a very nice first full-season after his shocking trade to the team during the 1977 season.

“Tom Terrific” went 16-14 over 36 starts, posting an ERA of 2.88 over 259 innings, tossing one shutout while completing eight, making his eleventh All-Star team on his way to an easy Hall of Fame selection years later, in my opinion THE best pitcher of the 1970’s.

Quite the trip of arms here!

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: J.R. RICHARD

On the blog today, we add Houston Astros ace J.R. Richard to my 1977 "N.L. Centennial" sub-set, celebrating the Senior League's 100th anniversary of the year before:

As part of the celebration, the league wore special patches on their sleeves, so I made sure to use photos that showed them on every card.

Luckily for me there were countless photos taken that season of the players and the league's games, so it wasn't nearly as difficult for me to create the set (slated for a two-series release later this year!).

As for the great J.R., he was just becoming the great formidable pitcher mowing down N.L. batter around this time.

From 1976 to 1979, Richard was down-right nasty, striking out 200 or more batters, including 300+ in both 1978 and 1979 (leading the N.L. in K's each time), as well as posting 18 or more wins and 3+ shutouts each season. 

1980 was shaping up to be more of the same, as Richard was 10-4 with a 1.90 E.R.A. and 119 K's through only 113.2 innings.

But on July 30th, 1980, while playing a game of catch before a game, Richard suffered a stroke that ended his career in an instant, requiring emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot in his neck.

Though he tried a comeback once he recovered, the stroke caused enough damage to prevent him from ever playing in another Major League game.

A tragic end to one of the most promising careers in the Majors at the time.

It would have been incredible to see Richard team up with new Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan and see how many K's they could have racked up.

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2015: 1972 J.R. RICHARD DEDICATED ROOKIE

On the blog today, thought it'd be fun to revisit a post from eight years ago, my 1972 "Dedicated Rookie" for Houston Astros great J.R. Richard:

Here's the original write-up for the post way back when:

"Richard appeared in his first four games during the 1971 season, and blew the MLB world wide-open when he struck out 15 batters in his first start.

It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout campaigns, four straight 200+ K years,  four straight seasons of 18+ wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…"

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

On the blog today, we have a 1978 “expanded league leader” card celebrating the top three strikeout pitchers of the 1977 season in the National League, featuring three solid pitchers of the era:

 

We begin with Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who was an absolute BEAST in 1977, leading the league with 262 strikeouts, a career-best for him, while putting in a workhorse of a year for the Atlanta Braves.

Over the course of that year Niekro started 43 games, completed 20 of them, tossed 330.1 innings while going 16-20 with a 4.03 earned run average, tossing two shutouts while allowing 315 hits while walking 164 batters!

If you can believe it he’d top those innings pitched in each of the next two seasons, throwing 334.1 and 342 in 1978 and 1979 respectively, while winning 19 and 21 games, completing 22 and 23 as well.

Just the definition of “workhorse” while throwing his knuckleball on his way to the Hall of Fame, winning 318 games while striking out 3342 batters along the way, with 45 shutouts over 864 games in his 24-year career.

Behind him with 214 strikeouts in 1977, the pitcher who would go on to lead the league in K’s the following two seasons, Houston Astros fire-baller J.R. Richard, who matched his previous season’s strikeout total while winning 18 games along with three shutouts and a 2.97 ERA.

Richard would eclipse the 300-strikeout threshold in the 1978 and 1979, with 303 and 313 before a stroke during the 1980 season tragically cut his career short after a brilliant 10-4 start with a 1.90 ERA, including four shutouts.

The man was well on his way to a dominant decade in the 1980’s, now teamed up with Nolan Ryan who arrived in 1980 to form what could have been one of the great 1-2 pitching tandems of all-time.

In third place with 206 strikeouts, overlooked ace Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos, who had a fine year in 1977 with 17 wins and a 3.10 ERA over 40 starts, completing 17 and tossing four shutouts.

Rogers would go on to post some solid years for the Expos into the 1980’s, winning as many as 19 games (1982) and even leading the league that year with a 2.40 ERA, and shutouts in 1983 with five.

A victim of some bad Expos teams in the early part of the 1970’s, he’d finish with a record of 158-152 over 13 seasons, with a very nice 3.17 ERA and 37 shutouts over 399 appearances, all for the Montreal franchise between 1973 and 1985.

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1977 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

Today on the blog, we move on in my on-going “expanded league-leaders” thread to the top three strikeout pitchers of the National league for 1976, proudly displayed on a 1977 expanded card:

 

 

We begin with the strikeout king of the N.L. Tom Seaver, New York Mets uber-star, who paced the league with his 235 strikeouts, 21 more than the runner-up in the league.

It was the fifth title for “Tom Terrific” since coming up in 1967, and the ninth straight season of 200+ strikeouts, a career which was already Hall of Fame worthy even though he was far from done.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, he finished with 3640 K’s over his illustrious career, along with 311 wins, a brilliant 2.86 ERA and 61 shutouts, with three Cy Young Awards.

In second place with 214 strikeouts, young Houston Astros phenom J.R. Richard, who also turned in his first 20-win season along with a very nice 2.75 ERA over 39 starts, with three shutouts among his 14 complete games.

He would also K 214 the following season before posting two straight 300+ strikeout campaigns in 1978 and 1979, becoming a towering force on the mound before a stroke tragically ended his career in his prime halfway into the 1980 season, after starting the All-Star game that year for the N.L.

Though he did try to make it back, he could never quite get back to a Big League mound, leaving us to wonder “what could have been” ever since.

In third place with 200 strikeouts on the nose, another New York Met, underappreciated hurler Jerry Koosman, who reached the 200-strikeout mark for the only time in his excellent Big League tenure, putting in arguably the best year of his career by also posting a record of 21-10 with a very nice 2.69 ERA over 34 games, with three shutouts and 17 complete games.

By the time he retired after the 1985 season, he finished with a record of 222-209 over 612 games, with a 3.36 ERA and 33 shutouts, with 2556 strikeouts.

There you have it! Onto the American League next week!

SPECIAL REQUEST: "FIXED" 1981 J.R. RICHARD CARD WITH ALL-STAR BANNER

By special request, today's blog post has a 1981 corrected card for former Houston Astros great J.R. Richard, who was ripped off an All-Star banner given that he was the N.L.'s starting pitcher for the 1980 Midsummer Classic:

 

I will never forget the disappointment as a twelve-year-old kid when I came to realize that Topps broke for their tradition of giving an All-Star designation to the starters of the previous season's game.

With Richard, it was ridiculous since the man pitched the first two innings of the game, allowing only one hit and two walks without a run, striking out three.

Adding insult to tragic injury, Richard suffered a career-ending and almost life-ending stroke shortly after the All-Star game, so you'd think they'd bestow this one honor in light of the tragedy.

At the time, Richard was on his way to another monster season, with a 10-4 record and 1.90 ERA over 17 starts, with 119 strikeouts after leading the N.L. in both 1978 and 1979 with 300+ each year.

But on July 30th, 1980, while playing a game of catch before a game, Richard suffered a stroke that ended his career in an instant, requiring emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot in his neck.

Just terrible.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…

REVISITING AN OLD POST FROM 2015: 1972 DEDICATED ROOKIE FOR J.R. RICHARD

Thought it'd be fun to revisit a blog post from August of 2015, featuring my 1972 "dedicated rookie" for Houston Astros great J.R. Richard:

 

Here's the original post write-up that accompanied the card:

Always one of my favorite subjects for card creations, here's a "dedicated rookie" 1972 card for former Houston Astros fireballer J.R. Richard.

Richard appeared in his first four games during the 1971 season, and blew the MLB world wide-open when he struck out 15 batters in his first start.

It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout campaigns, four straight 200+ K years,  four straight seasons of 18+ wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…

DEDICATED "ROOKIE CARDS" #15: 1972 J.R. RICHARD

Always one of my favorite subjects for card creations, here's a "dedicated rookie" 1972 card for former Houston Astros fireballer J.R. Richard.

Richard appeared in his first four games during the 1971 season, and blew the MLB world wide-open when he struck out 15 batters in his first start.

It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout campaigns, four straight 200+ K years,  four straight seasons of 18+ wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…

"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #35: J.R. RICHARD FANS 15 IN DEBUT

Here's a card I was psyched to design, a 1972 "Highlight" card celebrating a player I was really into as a kid before his career was tragically cut short: J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros and his explosive big league debut.

Check it out:

Richard made quite the splash in his first Major League appearance on September 5th of 1971, striking out FIFTEEN San Francisco Giants, thus tying Brooklyn Dodger Karl Spooner's rookie record from 1954.

Among his strikeout victims was none other than Willie Mays, whom Richard K'd three times that day, as well as Bobby Bonds, who struck out twice.

All told Richard pitched a complete game, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits, while walking three and picking up the win.

But it wasn't until the 1975 season that Richard began dominating batters as a full-time starter, striking out 176 batters while going 12-10 with a 4.39 earned run average over 203 innings.

From 1976 to 1979, Richard was down-right nasty, striking out 200 or more batters, including 300+ in both 1978 and 1979 (leading the N.L. in K's each time), as well as posting 18 or more wins and 3+ shutouts each season. 

1980 was shaping up to be more of the same, as Richard was 10-4 with a 1.90 E.R.A. and 119 K's through only 113.2 innings.

But on July 30th, 1980, while playing a game of catch before a game, Richard suffered a stroke that ended his career in an instant, requiring emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot in his neck.

Though he tried a comeback once he recovered, the stroke caused enough damage to prevent him from ever playing in another Major League game.

A tragic end to one of the most promising careers in the Majors at the time.

It would have been incredible to see Richard team up with new Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan and see how many K's they could have racked up.