Lee Richmond

J Lee Richmond

• Bats Unknown, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 155 lb.
• School Brown University
• Debut September 27, 1879
• Final Game October 4, 1886
• Born May 5, 1857 in Sheffield, OH USA
• Died October 1, 1929 in Toledo, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Lee Richmond pitched the first perfect game in the major leagues.

He was also the second major league player to come out of Brown University, where he attended in 1877-1879. Harry Salisbury and the first Fred Tenney had been at Brown at the same time. Richmond later went back to Brown to get a medical degree. Prior to his first time at Brown he had been at Oberlin College.

Richmond pitched in 74 games in 1880, leading the league in appearances. His team played 83 games, so Richmond was in 90% of them as a pitcher. He also appeared 20 times as an outfielder that year, mostly in right field. His .227 batting average was close to the team average of .231.

He continued to be Worcester's main pitcher in 1881 and 1882, until in 1883 he became primarily an outfielder for the Providence Grays. He had hit well above the team batting average and slugging average in 1882, and was again above average in both categories in 1883. He umpired one National League game in 1883.

In later life Richmond became a teacher and later Dean of Men at the University of Toledo. He mostly taught mathematics. He had earlier taught the subject at Scott High School in Toledo, where, coincidentally, one of his students was Norman Joss, the son of Addie Joss, who was the fourth pitcher to toss a perfect game in the major leagues.

Notable Achievements

• NL Games Pitched Leader (1880)
• NL Saves Leader (1880)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1880 & 1881)
• 30 Wins Seasons: 1 (1880)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1880-1882)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1880-1882)
• 400 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1880-1882)
• 500 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1880)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1880)

Related Sites

• Lee Richmond at the SABR Bio Project