October pickups

[Scott Garner]

Happy Halloween to all!
Thanks to net54 board member Dewey St. Germaine I was able to add a ticket stub that I have been looking for for quite a while.

In the 2nd Game of a DH on September 5, 1971 Astros rookie JR Richard made his ML debut at SF.
What a debut it was! 6'8" JR Richard struck out 15 batters (tied Karl Spooner for most K's in a debut) and got his 1st win.
I was able to pair this up with Giants super fan Lena Pontier's scorebook from 1971 that documented Richard's debut game. Lena Pontier was the SF Giant's 1st season ticket holder when the Giants moved to SF in 1958.
Her scorebooks are the most detailed that I have ever seen. Take a look...

In 1998 I had the opportunity to attend a Fleer promotional event in Los Angeles that featured HOF Dave Winfield, who as many of you know was no small guy himself.
I asked Winfield who was the most intimidating pitcher that he ever faced and he said without question it was JR Richard. He said he was intimidated (scared) every time he faced him. Big guy, threw super hard and was conveniently wild. Nolan Ryan was the other pitcher that Winfield was intimidated by, BTW.

JR Richard was a super-talented pitcher and was destined for greatness before a massive stroke sadly ended his career in the early 1980's. A perennial All Star, Richard struck out over 300 batters in two seasons while pitching for the Astros.