Al Richter

Allen Gordon Richter

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lb.
• School Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of Florida
• High School Matthew Fontaine Maury High School
• Debut September 23, 1951
• Final Game April 21, 1953
• Born February 7, 1927 in Norfolk, VA USA
• Died October 29, 2017 in Virginia Beach, VA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Shortstop Al Richter was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox before the 1945 season, but before he could pull his baseball suit on he was drafted into the military where he helped the United States Army finish up World War II in 1945-1946. He was back in time for the 1947 season and had a split year with the Oneonta Red Sox of the Canadian-American League and the Lynn Red Sox of the New England League. Al hit .242 in 110 games in his first season in a professional baseball uniform.

Al was destined to be a minor league shortstop from 1945 to 1955, with the exception of a five-game stint with the Boston Red Sox in 1951, and one more contest with the Red Sox in 1953. After the 1949 season ,Richter spent practically all of his playing time with AAA clubs, mostly with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association, where in 1951 he hit .321 and was named the All-Star shortstop for all the minor leagues by Look Magazine.

He was presented with an award for the honor at Fenway Park in September after being called up to Boston. Al's only big league hit came on the final day of the 1951 season when he singled off Spec Shea of the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. All told, Al appeared in 6 games in the majors, picking up the 1 hit in 11 at-bats.

Richter finished up his run in pro baseball with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League in 1955, going out strong, hitting at a .277 clip in 124 games. This gave him a ten-year career average of .265 while appearing in 1,231 games. He also fielded the toughest spot in the infield at a career .961 percentage.

Richter had attended the University of Florida in Miami in the off seasons, graduating with a degree in business in 1953. After baseball he worked in food merchadising and real estate and retired in his native Norfolk, VA. He died in nearby Virginia Beach, VA in 2017.

Sources

• Baseball Players of the 1950s
  
• Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball
  

Related Sites

• Al Richter at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page