Hardy Richardson Baseball Card Debut May 1879 Buffalo Bisons A splendid early baseball pioneer, Hardy Richardson was a member of Buffalo’s “Big Four,” a quartet of outstanding players who starred for the team during its brief seven-year tenure in the National League, 1879-1885. Dan Brouthers, a member of the baseball Hall of Fame, Deacon White, Jack Rowe, and Richardson kept Buffalo in pennant contention most seasons, but they couldn’t fill up the park. In 1886 Detroit paid $7,000 for the whole team just to get the Big Four. Richardson led the NL in hits and home runs in his first year with the Wolverines. In 1887 the Big Four paid off by bringing Detroit a pennant. A sterling fielding second baseman, Hardy Richardson also played wherever he was needed, even pitching and catching on a few occasions. His strength was his bat: he compiled a .299 batting average over 14 seasons and, with Boston of the Players League in 1890, he hit .326 and had a league-leading 146 RBIs. Off the diamond Hardy Richardson also was an excellent marksman. He specialized in on-the-wing shooting, and offered a $1,000 prize to anyone who could outshoot him, but he never lost. |