George Richardson

George Richardson

• Born February 1, 1878 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died August 1948

Biographical Information

George Richardson was the twin brother of William Richardson, who in 1919 had bought a 40% ownership share in the Washington Senators, while in turn facilitating a loan for Clark Griffith to increase his share to 44%. As part of the deal, he had agreed to let Griffith run the team on his own, being content to remain a silent partner, and to give Griffith a right to match any future sale of the shares. When William passed away on June 10, 1942, George inherited his shares.

George, who was born in 1878, was willing to continue under the terms agreed upon more than two decades earlier and never took an active interest in running the team, thus allowing Griffith to comport himself as if he was the majority owner. This changed after he passed away in August of 1948. His heirs did not feel bound by the oral agreement given by William back in 1919 and sought to maximize the return on the sale of their shares, which took place in early 1949 when they were sold to John James Jachym. Not only was Griffith unable to match the sale price, but Jachym had every intention of exercising the prerogatives that came with owning almost as large a share of the team's capital as Griffith.

Related Sites

• Washington Senators ownership history