This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:08] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to the Break a Bat Podcast where baseball meets Broadway, an attempt to show that my two favorite mediums don't have to live in such separate worlds and maybe even break some stigmas.

[0:20] Al Malafronte: We're happy to have you with us. Now let's play ball.

[0:25] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to Break a Bat. I'm your host, Al Malafronte, coming at you for the Broadway Podcast Network.

[0:31] Al Malafronte: Uh tonight we're joined by one of baseball's true gentlemen, and without a doubt, one of the best to ever play the role of second baseman here on Broadway. Uh his career with the New York Yankees spanned 1955 to 1966 with a tenure highlighted by eight All-Star Games, six Gold Glove Awards, and most importantly, he was a member of four World Championship casts.

[0:51] Al Malafronte: His performance in the 1960 Fall Classic was so historic that to this day he remains the only person in baseball history to win the World Series MVP despite being on the losing side, as he hit a remarkable .367 with five extra base hits and 12 RBIs. By the way, those 12 RBIs remain a record for a single World Series. We're so honored he could join us tonight. So with that being said, if you'll please turn your attention to home plate, just beyond the marquee. Now batting Bobby Richardson.

[1:20] Al Malafronte: Mr. Richardson, welcome.

[1:23] Bobby Richardson: Well, thank you, Al. Thank you. Glad to be with you. And uh it's been a long time ago, but good memories.

[1:32] Bobby Richardson: This is such an honor for me, and I have to tell you, I always enjoy when I get to welcome folks on Break A Bat who I have a personal connection to because uh my father actually wrote a book report on the Bobby Richardson story back when he was in grade school. So this is a pretty cool one for me.

[1:45] Bobby Richardson: Wow, that's an antique man, and uh I have written another book, in fact, called Impact Player. Several years ago, George Giorati wrote the foreword for that book, and it's really been used in a good way. I appreciate uh your taking of that early book of a long time ago.

[2:02] Al Malafronte: Well, it's nice to see that you've remained such a huge part of the Yankee family. Do you still enjoy baseball?

[2:07] Bobby Richardson: Uh, you know, even as different as it is these days.

[2:10] Bobby Richardson: Well, I really do, and I had so many friendships during my time with the Yankees. I'm not a pastor. I have two sons that are pastors, two grandsons that are pastors, but I've had a part in 10 of my teammates' funerals, including Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle and Scour and Boyer, and right on down the line, Ralph Falk and so forth. So I had a great rapport with my teammates, and uh still today Kubek and I talk, Ralph Terry and I talk, and uh so I still have a real impact. And until about two years ago, I went up every year for the old timers game, played my first old timers game when I was 31, and I'm 85 now, so that's a lot of years in there.

[2:53] Al Malafronte: You know, it's pretty amazing. You know, you played 12 years in the big leagues, you retired fairly early. You mentioned you were playing your first old timers game when you were 31. I uh, you know, it's pretty amazing that you're truly a Yankee for life in every sense of the term. And you know, when you look back on your career now, in addition to the relationships that you had with your teammates, what are you most proud of?

[3:13] Bobby Richardson: Well, I think the fact that uh when I was 14 years old, I got cut from a high school baseball team, but I made the American Legion team that summer, and we were playing with uh in one game of going to the American Legion World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. And before that last game, they took us out to see the film Pride of the Yankees. Story of Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper played the part, and Babe Ruth played his own part in that film. And I thought, what a great organization. How I'd like to be a part of that. And the scout, Yankee Scout was at that game, Spud Chandler. I said, Hey, uh, I want you to know that when you graduate from high school, I'll see to it you have a chance to sign with the Yankees.

The Yankees kept their word, kept in touch, and sure enough, at 17 the day I graduated, I signed and then joined the Yankees at 19. And you're right, nine out of 10 years, the Yankees won the pennant starting in '55. The only year we didn't win was 1959. The White Sox won that year, but going through '64 when Yogi managed against the Cardinals.

[4:10] Al Malafronte: Now, here on Broadway, we have a lot of established performers that like to take the new guard under their wing. And to my understanding, you had a certain Broadway legend take a liking to you as soon as you got called up. Why don't you tell the folks at home a little about how Mickey Mantle broke into the Bronx?

[4:25] Bobby Richardson: Well, Mickey Mantle is a it is two ways. Now, number one, when I was 17, I was given a trip to New York to work out with the Yankees. And I remember so well that Frank Corsetti was to hit me some ground balls and field those, and then come up to the batting cage and take some swings. And I stood around the batting cage for a little while, and I wouldn't go step in front of Yogi Berra or Billy Martin, and Mickey Mantle came up from behind, put his arm around me and said, Come on, kid, step in here and take some swings. And it started a friendship that lasted a lifetime. And when I came back up at 19, Gil McDougald got hit by a line drive, and I was replacing him. And I remember that first game, and Mickey always does this to every rookie.

He tells all the players, now we all starting lineup, run out together. We'll get about 20 yards out, we'll all stop and come back and see what the rookie does. Well, I didn't know what to do when they stopped, went back. And so I made a circle and I went back too, and they all started laughing. Then we run on out to our position. But Mantle and I got even closer after baseball. We spent time we were both grand marshals of a ski festival once in Boone, North Carolina, and he didn't know how to ski, and I didn't know how to ski. And we filmed it on a lift like we knew what we were doing, but we didn't.

[5:39] Al Malafronte: But the contracts today, they just simply would not allow you guys to be the skiers.

[5:43] Bobby Richardson: No, no, no, I agree. It's well, financially, it's surely different today. My first year I was making five thousand dollars, and my son equated that to $35 a game. And uh then the minimum salary went up the next year to $7,500. And at that time, Mantle was the highest salary with $100,000. We thought that was a million. But uh in fact, we have a safe in the clubhouse, little cubicles with numbers on it. Mantle came in from spring training one year, and I think I was making about ten thousand dollars, and he opened his cubicle, and there was a check in there from the previous year he had back forgot to cash for $15,000. I thought, man, oh man. That's 2020. I'm not leaving any checks behind.

[6:29] Al Malafronte: That's true. I agree. Now, there's obviously been a lot of stories about how some of uh I guess your teammates were a little wild when it came to New York City nightlife, and you yourself were always one of the more level-headed guys in the clubhouse. Was it ever tough to resist the temptation to keep up with guys like Mickey and Whitey and Billy Martin off the field?

[6:48] Bobby Richardson: Well, you know, it's funny you'd ask because we would clinch a pennant sometime with maybe eight or ten days left in the season, and um the Yankees didn't want them celebrating too much uh before the World Series, and so they would hire detectives to follow the players. Well, Mantle and Martin and those guys that you mentioned were too smart for those detectives, and they'd get a cab, get out the other side of the cab. The only ones the detectives could follow was Kubek and I, and they followed us and Bobby Shantz to the YMCA. We played ping pong. We got some popcorn. And uh they turned that report into George Weiss and he fired all of them. He didn't want that. He wanted the other guys. But they were great guys and wonderful teammates. And I played at a great time.

[7:31] Al Malafronte: Does it ever amaze you that the teams you were on uh were able to win in such an incredible way despite everything going on off the field?

[7:40] Bobby Richardson: Well, um, you know, I can remember a few times when Mantle probably batted when he was wondering whether or not he'd be able to hit the ball. But every time he came through, hit the ball out of the park. One in particular, I remembered uh the ball club uh was playing in um in Cincinnati, I think it was, and uh they went over to party and they missed the train going to Detroit. And they uh they tried to get a flight, but it was snowing at that time. The airport was closed, and they hired a cab. It cost them $400 to get there, and you could tell they'd step all night, and uh Durocher slept all night. And Stengel said to Mantle and to Martin, that was the main two. He said, Now both of you go play nine innings today. First time up, Mantle hit the ball, not only out of the park, but literally out of the park in Detroit. And uh, and uh Stengel said, That's good enough, you're through for the day. And so he sat down. Martin had to play the whole nine innings.

[8:30] Al Malafronte: So now, did you have a good relationship with Casey?

[8:35] Bobby Richardson: I did. He was tough to play for, he was a great uh manager. His forte was the press. He would deal with the press so well. I've seen him go to sleep during the games, but he had great coaches. Frank Corsetti handled the field. Uh Turner handled the pitching, and so he could sit on the bench and manage, and he'd make decisions that were not good decisions. He'd put a left-hand hitter against a left-handed pitcher, but they'd always come through. We had so much talent during those years that anybody could have managed the Yankees. Now, during the time they put the draft in and all that down came down to those last years. And when Ralph Houk took over, the draft was in session, and it was more even as far as the content of the players on one team.

[9:17] Al Malafronte: Now, Bobby, as much as your team's won, uh, a huge part of your legacy is obviously that 1960 World Series. And you had such an iconic performance that despite losing, you were named the MVP of that World Series. All these years later, do you still think of it as the one that got away?

[9:33] Bobby Richardson: Well, I remember this particular. We were in the clubhouse. Mazeroski had hit the home run out of the park. And as soon as the ball was hit, I looked at Yogi Berra, who was playing left field. I knew it was out of the park. I knew the game was over. I knew the fans would be on the field in no time at all. I took my hat off, took my glove, and ran to the dugout. And we were taking our time dressing. And we were sad because we thought we had a better ball club. We should have won it in six games. And Mantle in particular was crying. He just uh had felt that we had a good team and we blew it. And he had his head down, he was crying. And the editor of Sport Magazine walked in, Ed Fitzgerald was his name, came over to my locker and said, You've been named the most valuable player.

Well, number one, nobody thought that you'd have anybody would win on the losing team like that. But uh I remember in particular, Mantle was an encourager for me at that time. He said, Well, at least we got something out of it. And sure enough, the next day I was uh in New York, went down to a Chevrolet dealer and got a 1960 Corvette, and uh had a friend up and he drove it home after the series was over. And I couldn't get my two boys in it. It was the two-seater, and I drove it for a while and had some friends that used it in ministry and said, Man, you know, I'd get some, I need to get something else. And I traded my old wagon for a new wagon and a new Jeep. And uh and uh so that Corvette went his way.

[10:55] Al Malafronte: You could have driven that thing around Broadway and looked like a pretty big deal. Now let me ask you, you know, I talked a little bit about the great nightlife in New York City. Did you catch your share of Broadway shows uh, you know, while you were playing for the Yankees or even in retirement?

[11:08] Bobby Richardson: I saw darn, I mean, Damn Yankees, I saw that, and uh just a couple more. My wife did go a couple times, but I lived in Ridgewood, New Jersey. We had relatives up there, and they would find us the furnished home in Ridgewood each year for the 10 years that I spent uh time with the Yankees. And so I did not go downtown New York very much, once or twice a year at the most.

[11:30] Al Malafronte: Now, '61 comes around. Were you one of the guys pulling for Mantle in the home run race?

[11:35] Bobby Richardson: Everybody that uh uh was pulling for Mantle because he grew up as a Yankee. Roger Maris had been traded in for another ball club, and they wanted Mantle to be the one that broke Babe Ruth's home run record. But when he had to drop out because of the uh surgery that he had to have because of the infection, everybody uh pulled for Maris to break the record. And Maris and Mantle had a great relationship. Mantle was pulling for him probably more than anybody else. Mantle wasn't affected as much by the pressure involved when you get close to a record like that. But Maris had so much pressure, he was losing his hair, and there was just no peace at all. Every reporter asked the same question. Now you go break Babe Ruth's record, and his only peace was on the field playing.

But what a great guy, and he's handled it so well over the years. They had his 50th reunion. 50 years later, they celebrated the fact that there shouldn't have been an asterisk there, that it was legitimate. And uh they invited five of his teammates to come up and uh enjoy the ceremony. And I was one of the five that came up and just a wonderful time in New York as they celebrated him as pre-steroid, the really one that broke the record.

[12:49] Al Malafronte: Do you think that there should be an asterisk on 73 that Barry Bonds hit?

[12:55] Bobby Richardson: Um yes. I I you know I feel there should be. I play I believe the legitimate record is Maris's, but I realize that others hit uh well over that. I remember watching the All-Star game, and I couldn't believe the ball flying out of the ballpark when they had the batting home run contest. And I knew something was different at that time. The ball was really jumping out of the ballpark. And I'm I'm one of those guys that uh fresh this Pete Rose. Of all people, he should be in the Hall of Fame. And the reason he's not is because of he broke a rule. And if he had just come on television and said, I want young people to know that you shouldn't gamble on ball games, and I want you young people to know that it shouldn't be done. That attacked him on the wrist, he'd have been in the Hall of Fame, but it just didn't handle it the right way, and he's still not in, and likewise Barry and some of the other guys.

[13:45] Bobby Richardson: The ones that confessed that I did wrong, you've forgotten that they were involved and involved in him.

[13:51] Al Malafronte: Right, almost like Andy Pettitte.

[13:52] Bobby Richardson: I think he's a great same thing, same thing. What a great guy he is.

[13:55] Al Malafronte: Yes.

[13:56] Bobby Richardson: Now you got to play on some iconic Yankee teams. Obviously, the '61 squad is probably the most iconic. And on a personal note, you had your best individual season in 1962. You led the league in hits that year, you hit .302. Both teams went on to win the World Series. I know it still stings, but in your eyes, were those two seasons just like the ultimate redemption for what happened against the Pirates?

[14:17] Al Malafronte: Yes, I think so. I think number one, Casey Stengel was fired. And the reason he was fired is because he didn't start Whitey Ford in the first game. He started him in the third game. Whitey pitched two shutouts. He would have probably pitched three if they started in the first game. I had fight Whitey Ford's Juno just a couple of days ago. His son, Eddie, played for me as I coached at the University of South Carolina. He was a tremendous college player. He was the number one draft choice, his junior year in college. Switch hitting shortstop, could do it all. Two quick years up to Triple-A with the Boston Red Sox. And then he just one day went to his dad and said, "Dad, I don't like the life in baseball. I want you to set me up in business." And he did. And I understand that. It's tough in the minor leagues, traveling on buses and three o'clock in the morning arrivals in to play an afternoon game the next day. But what a great athlete he was in college.

[15:10] Al Malafronte: Yeah, and you know, one of your most signature moments, I should say, was the ninth inning, game seven of the '62 World Series. And that screaming liner off the bat of Willie McCovey's. Can you take the folks at home a little behind the scenes of what was going on just before he came to bat, you know, on a play that's really become such a huge part of your legacy?

[15:33] Bobby Richardson: Yes, there were two men on base. Matty Alou was on first base. Let's see, that's not right. Matty Alou was on third base, and Willie Mays came to bat. I guess he was on first base. That's what it was. And Willie Mays came up with two outs. Now the manager went out to talk to Ralph Terry to see if he wanted to pitch to Willie McCovey's or if he wanted to walk him and load the bases. They were middle first and third, and then the base would be loaded. And Ralph said, "I'd rather pitch to him. I'm afraid I'll get behind on the count, and I don't want the opportunity to walk a run in." And so he agreed to pitch. And at that time, I walked over to second base. Kubek and I roomed together my whole career, in the minors and the majors.

Willie Mays was on second base at that time. And I remember that Tony looked at me and said, "I sure hope you don't blow it if McCovey hits the ball to you, make an error." He said, "You already made one of the series. I'd hate to see you blow one right now." And that's Mays laughed, and that's what I was thinking about when I walked back. And I got in position and Ralph Terry thought I was playing out of position. I was playing him pull way in the hole. And he took one step out toward me. He said he was going to ask me to move. Then he realized I'd played 1,400 games there, and he said, "No, I'll just leave it like it is." And McCovey hit the ball. He said it's one of the hardest balls he ever hit.

In fact, I didn't see him for 45 years. They had a new stadium out in California, and the Giants called and asked if I would come out and speak at a banquet with Willie McCovey's, and the two of us throw out the first ball the next day. And when I saw him for the first time in 45 years, his response to me was, "I bet your hand is still hurting." And I said, "You hit it hard," and he really did. And he was a great guy. And my best friend was pitching. Billy Odell is from South Carolina. We quail hunt together. He was going for his 20th win. And it was a tough loss for him. Had he won the game, if that ball had been in for a single, he would have been the most valuable player in that World Series.

[17:32] Al Malafronte: Now you go on to make the World Series again in '63, make it again in '64, epic World Series against Bob Gibson and the Cardinals, but a lot changed in 1965. How soon did you realize that these were no longer the Yankees that you were accustomed to playing for?

[17:52] Bobby Richardson: We knew it along about 1963. If you remember, we played the Dodgers, lost four to row to the Dodgers. Sandy Koufax, of course, was tremendous. He struck Kubek out, struck me out, struck Mantle out, did the same thing again. I just wanted to be a first ball hitter the third time. He struck Kubek out. I struck out for the third time, and Mantle just shook his head as I walked by and said, "No, use me to go up there." He got him three times, too. But I could see the players that we were trading younger players for that one more guy that'd be a pinch hitter, could keep us going for another year, trying to win one more pennant. But because of the draft and because of the clinic, players coming in because of the draft, everybody had an equal option.

I could see that we were losing out. And that's one of the reasons we had won nine out of ten years, and Kubek and I both decided we both wanted to retire at 29. And we went to Ralph Houck and told him we both were going to retire short in second in 1965. And Ralph moved up to general manager, and Sports Illustrated heard about it and they called and took a picture, said they photographed over. They were going to put us on the cover of Sport magazine, short and second, retiring at 29. And then Ralph Houck signed Bobby Mercer to a contract, and he called and said, "I know both of you want to retire, but I wanted to play one more year and break Bobby Mercer in." It was decided that Kubek would do it and I would retire.

Tony got called in the reserve program and he couldn't play, and so Ralph called and said, "Gentlemen's agreement, Tony can't. Will you play one more year?" I said, "Sure, I'll be glad to." And I played one more year, and Bobby Mercer was drafted, and he had to spend a year in the service at that time. Came back two weeks before the season ended. But at that time, we could see that we were declining. It would be a while before it went again. And indeed, it was how many years, a dozen years or more.

[19:42] Al Malafronte: Did you enjoy coaching on the collegiate level?

[19:45] Bobby Richardson: I didn't think I would. Paul Dietzel asked me to be the baseball coach at South Carolina, and I turned him down twice. And the third time when he came, he said, "I won't waste your time, but I really would like to have you as my coach." And I said, "I'm ready to try it now." I said, "Let me get a release from the Yankees." Because I played that one extra year, Ralph Houck gave me a five-year contract, one to play and five just to afford it to decide what I wanted to do. So I decided I would like to try coaching on the level at the University of South Carolina. They hadn't put a lot of emphasis on baseball, but they wanted to have a good team. And so when I went to the Yankees, Ralph said, "Now wait a minute.

He said, If you want to, you can come back and be our major league coach, you can be our broadcaster, or you can be our Triple-A manager." And I said, "Oh, the travel is involved, and that's why I'm retiring." And then he made the statement, "Well, when you get settled down, give us a call, we'll bring the Yankees down to play your ball club." Three years later, we lost out to Miami by one run, and I called and said, "I'm ready for you." He hesitated and I thought it was a no, and he said, "We're traveling north with the Mets from training." I thought that was definitely a no. Then he said, "Would it be all right if the Yankees and Mets come down and play your ball club?" And I said, "Wow, yes."

And Yogi was managing the Mets at that time. And I remember that I drove the bus out to the airport to pick the team up. Yogi in particular, he said, "What are you doing driving the bus?" And I said, "Well, we get it out of carpool. And the last driver we had, I said, I want to keep you safe. I said, I wouldn't drive this bus myself." We played three against the Yankees, three against the Mets. They played each other on the lice, just put our team on the map. And the next year we finished second in the College World Series. Lost to Texas in the final game. And I had Rizzuto's son playing for me as well. I called Yogi. I said, "You go send your son down." He said, "No, he's going right to the big leagues." And he did.

[21:32] Al Malafronte: Now you mentioned that two of your sons are pastors. They didn't want to take the baseball route themselves.

[21:37] Bobby Richardson: You know, that's funny. Both of them were good ball players. Both of them were captain of their college teams. One went to Wheaton College in Chicago. The other one went to Taylor University in Indiana. Robbie, my oldest, actually played one year for me at the University of South Carolina. He was an excellent high school player. But he all his life had wanted to go on and fallen to be a pastor and wanted to go to seminary. And so it turned out good for them. They've both been great pastors. At one time they were both pastors in my hometown. I had to go eight o'clock service over here and eleven o'clock over here. And finally, Robbie's in Michigan now, and my son Ron is right near Charlotte, North Carolina. And I have two grandsons that are pastors now, one in Virginia and one in Mississippi. They would give you some real grief if you were to miss if you were to attend one of their services and not the other.

[22:26] Al Malafronte: So well, the good part now is they're all streaming because of the virus, of course. So I can pick them up each one each Sunday. So I've been able to see all of them, even though they're way away.

[22:38] Bobby Richardson: Now, Al, I know you're such a man of great faith. And one chapter of your life that I found particularly fascinating was the relationship that you had with Mickey Mantle in the later years of his life when he was battling alcoholism and then coming out of it. Can you just talk a little bit about that? And, you know, because I know you mentioned before that you had Mickey Mantle's funeral. Can you tell us a little bit more about, you know, the later years of Mantle's life and your role in it?

[23:04] Bobby Richardson: Well, you remember that I said we were both grand marshals of the ski festival. We had a place together in Boone, North Carolina at Grandfather Mountain. It was called Adam's Apple, which was the Adam's Apple under the Grandfather Mountain. And we would spend time up there, and if we weren't there, they'd rent it out, and that's how it paid for itself. And I remember this in particular, it was about three years, and they had that gasoline crisis way back that particular year, '72, somewhere along in there, and it went under. And all of his friends said, "Mickey, what happened to that place you and Bobby had together?" He said, "Oh, Bobby tithes it to the Lord." He didn't tell him it went bankrupt.

He said, "Bobby tithes it to the Lord." But we just had a great relationship. He came down to Sumter one time, which is my hometown in South Carolina, and we had a wonderful banquet. We were trying to raise money for the YMCA. We gave away 2,000 Mickey Mantle bats. He gave a batting exhibition. Kubek came down to pitch to him, and we raised enough money to build a YMCA, $365,000 in something. At that time, you could build a nice facility for that amount of money. He came to the university when I coached. Whitey's son was there, and he and Whitey both came down, and we did an eight-year-old boys' instruction from Whitey the Pitchers and Mantle the Hitters. And we've caught up with one of those boys 40 years later.

He said, "How was it like having the icon of baseball give you instruction?" He said, "Well, I remember one thing." He was 48 years old now. He said, "We asked Mr. Mantle if you take one swing." And your assistant coach was pitching, he threw the ball in, he hit it out of the ballpark, over the football field, into the parking lot, because he said you jumped up and said, "Stop, my car's parked over there. We can't do that anymore." So those were just wonderful times. And all of those times, Mickey and I talked about the Lord and maybe the need in his life in the Lord. And it all started when I had the eulogy at Roger Maris' funeral. And Mantle was a pallbearer, been drinking a little bit. Sat by me on the bus going back to the motorhome we were in at that time.

And I remember so well that he said, "I want you to have my funeral." Well, I didn't think that would ever happen, of course, but we kept in touch, and sure enough, the time that he was at Baylor Medical Center, I happened to be with the baseball team around the All-Star game, which was in Dallas, Texas. And he just had that wonderful interview with Bob Costas where he'd been through Betty Ford. He didn't drink anymore. And it took so much courage for what he did to say, "I'm no hero, I'm no role model." Man, it just took so much courage. And I had given him my baseball cap, the All-Star cap, and he was wearing it during that particular television interview. And I remember that I shared this verse with Mickey at that time.

He called about five o'clock in the morning. My wife answered the phone, and Mickey said, "I want Bobby to pray for me. I'm at Baylor Medical Center, I'm in the midst of chemotherapy, I'm waiting for a liver transplant." And the verse that I shared with Mickey that day was Philippians 4, but I used the Phillips translation. It says, "Delight yourself in the Lord. Find your joy in him at all times. Never forget his dearness." Then it says, "Tell God in detail your problems, your anxieties, and the promises, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus." Betsy went out and spent the next two days with Merle and his wife, Mickey and I were together.

And as I started to fly back, he said, "Don't forget now, you don’t have my funeral." And then that time came, he called and asked if Betsy and I could come out and spend those last days. And immediately we were on a plane flying toward Dallas. And one more time, I wanted to be bold in my witness, telling you about the Lord and the fact that if you know him, you have the gift of eternal life. And I remember that I let Betsy off and went to the hospital, and we just had a wonderful time with the Lord. And that's when he came up to me and said, "Hey, I want you to know I'm a Christian. I've accepted Christ as my Savior." I found out that the chaplain had been playing Pete Maravich's testimony, great basketball player, but probably the most humble testimony I've ever heard.

And I just think that's what had the impact in his life. And then, of course, I did have his funeral, and it turned out it was on national television. I asked Bob Costas. I had to make all the arrangements. I got the church. I went to my friend who was pastor of his church, and he was on vacation. Later on, he got mad with the secretary because she wouldn't let me contact him because he was on vacation. But we had a Tom Landry's Church, Lovers Lane, that's the name of a road, Methodist Church, and the Lord really used that. It was a wonderful church to have a funeral in.

[27:25] Bobby Richardson: It was on national television. I closed that with probably the most important thing that I've done. I've had 10 of my teammates' funerals, including Ralph Halk, and at each one of them I used this. If you don't mind, I'll just say it uh right quick like. Uh Mickey had heard me and he said, I want to use those words on my day in New York. He had a special day in New York. But it's one of those days when too much was going on and he just didn't have a chance. But on national television, when I had his funeral, it was appropriate. It says, your name may not appear down here in this world, saw a thing. In fact, you may be so unknown that no one knows your name. The trophies, the honors, the flash books.

He may pass you by, new lights and blue. But if you know and love the Lord, then I have news for you. This Hall of Fame is only good as long as time shall be. But keep in mind God's Hall of fame is for eternity. This crowd on earth, they soon forget the heroes of the past. They cheer like mad until you fall, and that's how long you last. But in God's Hall of Fame, but just believing in his son, scrap, you'll find your name. I tell you, friend, I wouldn't trade my name, however small, that's written never yon the stars, and that's Celestial Hall. For every famous name on earth, our glory that they share. I'd rather be an unknown here and have my name up there. And he was both. He had his name down here in the Hall of Fame, but he also has his name in Heaven's Hall of Fame.

He was a great player, great friend. It's one of the most uplifting things that we've ever heard on Break A Bat, Mr. Richardson. And uh I thank you for sharing that. That's just amazing. One quick sentence. My son was five years old, just starting to read. I had all my mail and threw it on the dashboard of my car going to my home in Ridgwood, New Jersey, and he opened a letter and said, Dad, this is a letter from Canada. He's written some words that you think would be useful to you. Please feel free to use these words anytime. And that was the words to God's Hall of Fame. I spoke for Johnny Banch out in Oklahoma at the Hall of Fame banquet, and uh he said, give me a copy of that. And next time I saw him, he covered the whole thing.

And then Jerry Carter did the same thing. Both of them learned, I'd see. I would see Johnny Bates, you'd say, This crowd on earth they soon forget. They're heroes of the past. They cheer like both, you know. So the Lord has used that over the years.

[29:38] Al Malafronte: There's a reason why you're so universally loved in the baseball universe, Mr. Richardson, and it's because of things like that. Do you still keep up with a lot of uh your ex-teammates? I know you had mentioned uh Kubek and Terry earlier, but um these days, you know, whether it be, you know, the Yankees are like the 60s or even, you know, guys that you know you've been affiliated with the organization for so long, some of the guys that came after.

[30:01] Bobby Richardson: You would be appreciative of this. But uh, when I was with the Yankees and then I retired, there was a sports writer by the name of Watson Spulsure, and he and I went to the commissioner of baseball, Booy Kuhn, and said, We would like to start baseball chapel. He said, I'm all for it. He said, Here's ten thousand dollars to get you started. We had our first uh baseball chapel at the All-Star Games when Pete Rose ran into uh the catcher. If you remember that about saying, that's right. And since that time, every team in baseball has a chapel, they have a service, and it's all through the minor league, coordinated with the teams now. And so uh I do keep in touch. I've spoken a number of those, so I got to know the Mariana Rubiars and the Andy Pettits and all of those guys and Lou Piniella.

The three of us shared a program one time. We had about I don't know how many generations. I'm the old one I'm and then Lou was next, and then Andy Pettit was next. We had a lot of years in baseball, spoke down in Florida in spring training. Uh Miss Steinbrunner was there and some others. It was a wonderful time.

[31:00] Al Malafronte: That's absolutely amazing. Did you have a good relationship with the boss?

[31:04] Bobby Richardson: Well, I hadn't met him for a long time. Yogi introduced me to him one day. I was up for an old timers game, and he gave me the Pride of the Yankees Award. They presented on opening day, and so that was when I got to know him. But his best friend was my best friend, Clyde King had every every uh position with the Yankees, general manager, manager, everything, and Clyde was one of my closest friends. So I kind of went to him. Let me just say this right quick. Billy Martin, I took his place, but we remained friends. When they retired, his number, he wrote me a letter and signed it. Your your friend Billy Martin in God and said, You can wear that number as long as you're playing old timers games or anything.

And I invited him to come down and play. I went to Coastal Carolina as athletic director. And um, I asked him to come down and play a golf tournament. He did come down, and uh we just had a wonderful time. He had uh his pitching coach had come down with him, and we just had a great time. We had an auction, he outbid everybody for everything, and then gave it back to the university. And so I just had so many thrills and so many friends in baseball over the years. It's been wonderful.

[32:07] Al Malafronte: Well, certainly a thrill to have you on Break A Bat. And uh, you know, Mr. Richardson, one thing that we do to wrap every show here is a little segment called Fastball Derby. And while you've accomplished a lot in your career, this is the opportunity uh for you to picture yourself back in the ninth inning, two outs, the game's on the line. You've hit a bunch of home runs in this game, but you've got to bring home the winning run now. Basically, what we'll do is we'll ask you a few questions. Uh, and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind. And you know, you're such a great storyteller, so feel free to tell some stories in some of these. Love to hear it. Favorite New York City meal.

[32:42] Bobby Richardson: Uh, I'm a steak guy, and uh I love steak and a baked potato.

[32:47] Al Malafronte: Toughest pitcher you ever had to face.

[32:50] Bobby Richardson: Andy Koufax pitched uh that wonderful shutout or not shut out, but he was struck 15 out at that time, and I was the one that got three, and that'll three, and Kubek was three. And but in the fourth game, I got two hits off of him, so that's all right. We lost all four of them.

[33:10] Al Malafronte: How about a guy you owned?

[33:12] Bobby Richardson: Well, it's funny you'd say that because there was a guy by the name of Dean Chance, and he owned me. And he could just see through from the side like Drysdale. He was just tough on right-hand hitters, but especially tough on me. And one day at Yankee Stadium in the ninth inning, it was a zero zero game, and I came up, he had two quick strikes on me, fastball was up and away, and I hit it to right field. Now Bobby Richardson, singles hitter, hit the ball to right field and went in the bullpen in right field. And the next day he came out, he said, I can't believe it. I can strike you out anytime. He said, You hit a home run to beat me. That's probably one of my big thrills.

[33:49] Al Malafronte: Now we've got the holidays coming up. What's your all-time favorite Christmas song and Christmas film?

[33:57] Bobby Richardson: Um I I watch a little bit of um Genie. What's that uh the Christmas channel on television? The old When You Fall in Love. Um Hallmark Channel.

[34:10] Al Malafronte: Hallmark Channel.

[34:11] Bobby Richardson: I watched the Hallmark Channel, and there's some favorites on there. And I've had some wonderful Christmases. I think the biggest thing was last year, between Christmas and New Year's, I had all my family come up together to celebrate Christmas for three days, and we rented 15 bedrooms. We had a gymnasium, we had a commercial kitchen. My son got a chef and brought him in, and our whole family got together. Team picture, everybody was there, 48 of us. I have 17 grandchildren. Uh, 18th is due in just a little bit, and 13th, we have 30 all together, grandchildren. So their spouses were all there, and I can't think of a better time we had. A great that was my greatest Christmas, I'm sure.

[34:53] Al Malafronte: It's funny, you mentioned the Hallmark channel. I'm I'm a sucker for that myself. Actually, a good couple good friends of our show are Jim Millie and Ashley Williams. So I'll tell them that you'll be tuning in to their uh to their films this year. Great, great programs. When you think of Christmas, you think of their channel.

[35:08] Bobby Richardson: That is the I also like Western's. I like to I like Westerns. Have you seen Once Upon a Time in the West?

[35:14] Al Malafronte: No.

[35:15] Bobby Richardson: That's a classic. Ken Singleton, actually, one of the great voices of the Yankees. He actually made his all-time favorite film on this show.

[35:22] Al Malafronte: Okay.

[35:23] Bobby Richardson: Well, my favorite film was Pride of the Yankees. Babe Ruth played his own part in that film. Bill Dickey was in the fame, the Hall of Fame catcher as well. And he took a swing of the guy on the train. He came back and was the he was my mentor in 62. He kind of took me in his wing when I led the league in hitting that year. He just meant so much to me.

[35:42] Al Malafronte: That's great. You know what? Just to touch on Bill Dickey really quick, not to stray from the game. It bothers me like crazy when people name the top 10 all-time Yankees and they don't put Bill Dickey in there. He absolutely needs to be in there. Because not only of what not only because of what he accomplished on the field, but what you know he did for so many generations of players, not you know, yourself, obviously.

[36:01] Bobby Richardson: Yogi talked about that, and he was really special. Not only that, but his best friend was the chairman of the board of the Masters Golf Tournament. And he could uh get you in there to play anytime you wanted to.

[36:15] Al Malafronte: Oh good to know. Now, how about this one? You can have dinner with any three players in baseball history. Who would you invite?

[36:24] Bobby Richardson: Well, believe it or not, Joe DiMaggio came back to upgrade his pension, and he was a coach for a couple of years with the Yankees. And he used to call me and say, Hey Rich, can we have dinner together tonight? And I remember one time it was a cracker jack old Thomas game, and he called me and we go have dinner. And I said, sorry, if I bring my little son, he's seven years. He said, Oh, my wife, you he said, Oh, wonderful. We hadn't sat down two minutes when my young son, seven years old, said, Mr. DiMancho, tell me about Maryland Monroe. And I kicked him under the table, and Joe said, No, no, no, that's all right. And so I really care about it and so forth. Funny question. Uh, when he was there, he didn't trust everybody, but he trusted Kubek and I, and he said, Hey guys, I'm not going to make this trip to the coast.

When you get to uh to San Francisco, he said, your phone will ring, and it'd be Marilyn Rowe. Tell her didn't make the trip, but I'll be in touch with her. And uh three times it rang, Quebec got it all three times. I never did talk to her.

[37:21] Al Malafronte: Yeah. Now here's an interesting one.

[37:25] Bobby Richardson: Okay.

[37:25] Al Malafronte: Who wins a best of seven series? The 27 or the 61 Yankees?

[37:31] Bobby Richardson: Well, I think this is a funny thing about it, but I think the old timers were the very best in their in their era, and the Milky Mantles and the Roger Maris are the very best in that area. And I think uh champion in that year would be a champion this year. I don't think that's fair to say which one would win the ball game, but I think we would. If White is pitching.

[37:55] Al Malafronte: True.

[37:55] Bobby Richardson: Okay. He got an edge there if he's going game seven.

[37:59] Al Malafronte: Proudest moment of your career.

[38:01] Bobby Richardson: I think proudest moment, this is unusual, but in 1962, um I was nominated for for the most valuable player in the American League. Mantle hit his 30th home run on the last day of the season. He had missed a lot of games that year because of injuries. And for him to say that's my biggest room at baseball. I know that when he played, we won. He, of course, deserved the MVP, but for him to say that still, that's my proudest moment in baseball.

[38:40] Al Malafronte: And lastly, what's the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you?

[38:45] Bobby Richardson: Well, uh, I think probably my assistant coach in junior high school. When I signed with the Yankees, I was sent to Norfolk, Virginia. I was overmatched. They had a really fine ball player that was the shortstop. He went to a three-week program in the service, and I took his place, and I didn't do well. I wasn't hitting my weight, and I was so discouraged. And he wrote me a letter. And in that letter he had this verse Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things should be added to you. And right as when I got that letter, my dad came up just to encourage me in the general magic, and they said, You need to be in class D baseball. They sent me to Class D for 32 games, signed everything in 412, skipped over that and played A-ball the next year. So that was the best advice I ever got. I put it in the Lord's hand.

[39:35] Al Malafronte: Well, it served you really well, Bobby. And uh I didn't break very many bats either. I used to think a bet, and uh I didn't break very many bats.

[39:45] Al Malafronte: Right in right in theme there. Uh, this is such an honor. I can't thank you enough for joining us. And uh, you know, I know that we're living in crazy times, but I know how close you are with your family, and I'm happy to see that everyone's around uh for Thanksgiving this year, and you know, hopefully for Christmas. And it'd be good. I've got a tech guy in my family that knows how to do this. I have a flip phone and I don't know anything about anything like that. It worked out good, though. Special thanks to Mr. K on that one.

[40:12] Al Malafronte: Well, folks, I'm so grateful that you could join us tonight. Uh, thank you to again, Mr. Richardson, for joining us. And uh this is Al Malafronte signing off for the Broadway Podcast Network. We'll see you next time.

[40:26] Al Malafronte: Thanks for listening to Break A Bat. This is produced by the fine folks at the Broadway Podcast Network. Visit and subscribe at bpn.fm slash breakabat. You can find me online at break underscore a underscore bat underscore podcast. And you can also find the Broadway Podcast Network on Instagram at Broadway Podcast Network. It's been so great having you here with us today, and we'll see you next time.