Bobby Richardson put South Carolina baseball on the map. Here’s what he’s up to now
After Bobby Richardson won World Series MVP with the Yankees in 1960, he bought a brand new house in Sumter. He and his wife, Betsy, have lived in that same house for the last 60 years.
Richardson kept the house during his playing days with the Yankees in the ’60s. He commuted from Sumter to Columbia when he coached the South Carolina baseball team in the 1970s. And today that house is the stage for his quarantine — not that he minds.
The 84-year-old Richardson loves Sumter, and Sumter loves him.
Even in his retirement, the South Carolina sports icon remains a fixture in his community. Before the coronavirus lockdown, Richardson would make multiple trips every week to Guignard Diner, just a block from his home, and meet with a collection of lifelong friends, transplanted Yankees fans and a chaplain for prayer. They call it the ROMEO Club, which stands for “retired old men eating out.” These are lighthearted gatherings where the men poke fun at each other and reminisce about the past.
“Three of us were standing outside the other day, before they closed down, and one of them said, ‘It’s windy today.’ And the other one said, ‘No, it’s Thursday.’ And the other one said, ‘I’m thirsty, too. Let’s go in and have a cup of coffee,’” Richardson said, laughing.
“We’re so old, all we talk about is doctor’s appointments. We forget. We can’t see that good. But we have a good time together.”
Of course, those ROMEO Club get-togethers are on hold now due to the virus, but Richardson finds other ways to pass the time. There’s always work to be done around his 60-year-old home, and his backyard is big enough to let his bird dogs out and shoot quail. There’s plenty of time to reflect, too.
It’s not easy to pick out one or two highlights from Richardson’s wide-spanning career in sports. One of the most decorated second basemen in Yankees history, Richardson won three World Series with the club and caught the final out in the 1962 Series against the Giants — a screaming line drive off the bat of hall of famer Willie McCovey. He said his biggest thrill was when he finished second in the American League MVP voting in 1961 to teammate and close friend Mickey Mantle. When Mantle received the award, he told reporters, “Bobby should have won this.”
Even then, though, Richardson’s heart belonged to his family and his community. He ended his playing career at 31 years old because the travel kept him away from Betsy and his kids, and he turned his attention instead toward building up the USC baseball program. Before June Raines’ 763 wins and Ray Tanner’s two national championships, Richardson was the coach who lifted the Gamecocks into national prominence, compiling a 221-92 record from 1970-76.
In 1974, Richardson led the Gamecocks to their first-ever NCAA regional appearance. Shortly after, he invited the Yankees and Mets to Columbia to face off against his college squad. Richardson remembers driving the USC team bus to the airport and picking up Yogi Berra, the Mets manager at the time, and the rest of the team and bringing them to the field. Berra threw batting practice to the Gamecocks that day, and then the Yankees and Mets played an exhibition under the lights.
“I remember flying back into the Columbia airport. Now, it was bigger when Ray Tanner won as No. 1 both years, but at that time Carolina had never been very good in baseball. And I don’t know how many people came out to the airport, but it was just a thrill to see them being appreciative of how the baseball team at Carolina was moving along.”
Richardson still keeps close tabs on USC baseball, and he follows Clemson, The Citadel and Wofford, among other South Carolina programs. He said he keeps up with college ball more than the major league game, although he tries to make a trip or two up to Yankee Stadium every year. In addition to coaching at USC, Richardson also made coaching stops at Coastal Carolina and Liberty before he retired in 1990. One of his former Chanticleer players owns the diner where he has his ROMEO Club meetings.
A devout Christian, Richardson established himself as a religious leader of sorts after his playing career. He served on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, spoke at multiple Billy Graham Crusades and even spoke at one of Richard Nixon’s White House church services in 1970. Two of his sons are pastors.
In times of strife, many of Richardson’s former teammates have reached out to him for spiritual guidance. He’s given eulogies at eight Yankee funerals, including Roger Maris, manager Ralph Houk and Mantle.
When he sees all of the anxiety, fear and pain produced by the current COVID-19 crisis, Richardson said he’s reminded of a 5 a.m. phone call he received in 1995 from Mantle. The hall of famer was awaiting a liver transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, and feared that the end of his life was near. Mantle asked if Richardson could pray with him.
“The verse that I used, it’s Phillippians, I use the Phillips translation,” Richardson recalled. “It says: Delight yourself in the Lord. Find your joy in him at all times. Never forget his nearness.”
A couple of days before Mantle’s death, Richardson visited him in the hospital. Mantle told him he had accepted Christ as his savior, and he was at peace.