Example #4,317 of why you should never check the web during your 3AM bathroom trip. Dominant on the mound. In the same parallel universe in which Lance Taylor plays in the ‘78 Cotton Bowl: - J.R. pitches in the 1980 Playoffs - The ‘Stros sweep the Dodgers in the NLCS - Houston wins its first series w/o the stain of cheating. The Field of Dreams team in Heaven just got stronger.
RIP. Dominant heat thrower on the mound. How about that dominant performance in the all star game! JR Richard was a good man on and off the field. He would volunteer, speak, mentor, and meet the youth at many FCA activities.
JR Richard was homeless in the early-90s (when I lived in Houston) and Enos Cabell, the Astros 3rd baseman in the mid-80s, owned a car dealership on the Gulf Freeway at the time. Cabell found JRR and gave him a job as a porter. I never heard of JRR being homeless again after that. NOTE: This is totally from my recollection at the time, I did not look any of this up. I may not have all the details exactly right.
He was doing well enough in the mid to late 80s with a lot of involvement with the youth and FCA. Something obviously happened after that.
The Houston Astros should have let him sleep in a luxury box or something for life (rather than the street) after his contributions.
JR was an exceptional talent. The right handed Randy Johnson of his time. In the words of the great Astros homer Loel Passé-“now you chucking it JR”. And to Hideo Gump-long live the Stratomatic wars of 1978.