J.R. Richard, Inductee
NLBBM Hall of Game
June 9, 2018
Thanks to the peeled-eye “breaking news” vision of one of our avid TPPE readers and voluntary field reporters — Rick Bush, by name — we’ve become aware on this Friday-going-into-the-Memorial-Day weekend with the news that former Astros pitching great J.R. Richard has been selected for induction this year into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s relatively new baseball “Hall of Game” in Kansas City.
The Hall of Game name honors former baseball players who voters feel exuded “the spirit of the way the game was played in the Negro Leagues,” Museum President Bob Kendrick said, when asked about the identity his group has now assigned to this newest hall of honor to players of greatness by some measure or viewable condition of greatness that most fans could see on sight.
Observable greatness? Game? Look at the other four inductees who will be going into this newly identified hall with Richard. — Do any of them need to put into words what was obvious in their styles of play as “game”?
Second mention here goes to another technically former Astro, Kenny Lofton, who broke into the MLB in a 1991 stretch with Houston, but then had most of his best time as a 17-season big leaguer with Cleveland, as the second of five total inductees. The others include Eddie Murray, Dick Allen, and James “Mudcat” Grant.
Just a note: In 2002, J.R. Richard was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.
The NLBBM Hall of Game Induction Banquet is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, June 9, 2018 in Kansas City. Here’s a link to the website. Click there, then scroll down the website page to the “Hall of Game” pictorial words for all the pertinent details on how you too may still attend, if you’d like to be there to help honor J.R. and see the others in person:
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
Houston, Baseball, & Other Musings.
The Pecan Park Eagle 