Virgil Donald Richardson (December 25, 1917 – December 21, 2014) was an American minor league baseball player in the 1940s and 1950s who hit over 260 home runs in his professional career. He was born in

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

, Nebraska. Richardson began his career playing for the

Mitchell Kernels The Mitchell Kernels were a minor league baseball team based in Mitchell, South Dakota. The Kernels played as members of the South Dakota League (1920), Dakota League (1921–1922), South Dakota League (1923), Nebraska State League (1936–1937) ...

and Salina Millers in 1939, hitting .308 in 120 games. He played for four teams in 1940 – the

Worthington Cardinals The Worthington Cardinals were a minor league baseball team based in Worthington, Minnesota. In 1939 and 1940, Worthington played as a member of the Class D level Western League. The Worthington Cardinals were a minor league affiliate of the St ...

Opelousas Indians The Opelousas Indians was the primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Opelousas, Louisiana. Between 1907 and 1941, Opelousas teams played as members of the Class D level 1907 Gulf Coast League, 1932 Cotton States League, playing ...

Rayne Rice Birds The Rayne Rice Birds were a minor league baseball team that existed from 1934 to 1941. In 1934, they were known as the Rayne Red Sox and from 1935 to 1941 known as the Rice Birds. They played in the Evangeline League and were affiliated with the Ch ...

and

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

– and in 1941 and 1942, he was with the Topeka Owls. He reached double digit home runs the first time that year, hitting 11. After not playing from 1943 to 1945 due to serving in the United States Navy during World War II,Seitz Resigns, Richardson Named
/ref> he resumed his professional career in 1946 and spent the majority of the remainder of his playing days in the

West Texas–New Mexico League The West Texas–New Mexico League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1937 through 1955, with a hiatus from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. The league started as a Class D level league, upgraded to Class C in 1946 and then ...

. He played for the

Pampa Oilers The Pampa Oilers were a West Texas–New Mexico League (1940–1942, 1946–1955) and Southwestern League (1956–1957) minor league baseball team based in Pampa, Texas, USA. They were affiliated with the Oklahoma City Indians in 1953 an ...

in 1946, hitting .339 with 26 home runs, 41 doubles and a .603 slugging percentage in 136 games. In 1947, Richardson hit .323 with 33 home runs and 46 doubles in 142 games between the

Lubbock Hubbers The Lubbock Hubbers were a minor league baseball team based in Lubbock, Texas, USA that existed on-and-off from 1922 to 1956. They played in the West Texas League (1922, 1928), Panhandle-Pecos Valley League (1923), West Texas–New Mexico League (19 ...

and

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

of the

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated wit ...

. He also had 113 RBI, 92 walks and only 35 strikeouts with Lubbock.Top 100 Teams
/ref> Back with Lubbock in 1948, Richardson hit .397 with 38 home runs, 48 doubles, 201 hits and a .741 slugging mark and in 1949, he hit .305 with 19 home runs and 35 doubles for Pampa. He had 33 home runs and 39 doubles for Pampa in 1950, while batting .330, and in 1951, he hit .324 with 25 home runs and 46 doubles for the same club. In 1952, he joined the

Clovis Pioneers The Clovis Pioneers was the primary name of the minor league baseball team that played in Clovis, New Mexico in various seasons from 1922 to 1957. The team was an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians (1946), Chicago Cubs (1950-1951) and Cincinnati R ...

, with whom he remained until the end of his career. He had 21 home runs and 36 doubles his first year with the club, 27 home runs, 38 doubles and a .330 batting average his second campaign and in 1954, his final season, he had 12 home runs and 35 doubles. Overall, he at least 262 home runs and 440 doubles in his 13-year career.Baseball Minors page
/ref> He set numerous West Texas–New Mexico League records. He also managed Pampa for part of the 1951 campaign, replacing Grover Seitz. Richardson died in

Fairbury, Nebraska Fairbury is a city and county seat of Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,942 at the 2010 census. Fairbury has been closely connected with railroading for much of its history. It was founded on the projected route of ...

on December 21, 2014, four days before his 95th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Virgil 1917 births 2014 deaths American baseball players