Sport: Baseball
Born: September 27, 1930
Died: July 23, 2023
Town: Haworth, New Jersey
Richard Wallace Hall was born September 27, 1930 in St. Louis and, after living in Albany, NY, he moved to Bergen County, NJ when he was 5 years old. The family settled in Haworth and Dick blossomed into a talented multisport athlete. Blessed with a combination of physical height and great coordination, he starred as a basketball center, football receiver, and long jumper. He enjoyed success on the diamond, as well, but mostly on the softball diamond. Baseball didn’t hit his radar until his late teens.
By then, the family had moved to Baltimore and Dick transferred from Tenafly High School to the Mount Hermon School, a boarding school in Massachusetts. After graduation, he enrolled at Swarthmore college, where he pitched and played the outfield for the Garnet. Dick lettered in five different sports in college, earning all-conference honors in basketball twice, Little All-America honorable mention in football, and setting the school long jump record for the track team at 23’ 0.5”. Swarthmore played an abbreviated baseball schedule, so Dick honed his skills in summer leagues in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Dick grew to over 6’6” and cut an imposing figure on the mound. He possessed a good fastball, but also had tremendous control and changed speed and location in order to get enemy batters to swing at “his” pitch. Dick could hit, run and throw at an elite level and he was courted by scouts from every big-league club. He ended up signing with the Pirates in 1951 for $25,000. GM Branch Rickey believed Dick could make it as a hitter and tried him at several positions in the majors, but he failed to hit in extended call-ups during the 1952 and 1954 seasons.
Dick played winter ball in Mexico during his off-seasons and set a record by belting 20 home runs in 1954–55. He also met his future wife there and became fluent in Spanish, which would prove valuable as more Latinos entered the game. That same winter, between home runs, Dick returned to the mound and started mowing down hitters. When he returned to the US, the Pirates made him a pitcher again and he continued to find success in the minors. The team called him up in July 1955 and inserted him the starting rotation. His herky-jerky, three-quarters motion confused the Cubs’ hitters and he fanned 11 in a 12–5 victory.
An arm injury curtailed Dick’s career for three seasons, but once he healed he was sensational. In 1959, he was named the Pacific Coast League’s MVP. Heading into 1960, the Pirates had serious pennant aspirations but were short a right-handed power-hitting catcher to pair with left-handed Smoky Burgess. They traded Dick to the last-place A’s for Hal Smith, who ended up a World Series hero for the club against the Yankees that fall. Dick had a solid year as a starter in Kansas City, drawing interest from the Orioles, who traded for him in 1961. That September, he was on the mound versus the Yankees in the game that Roger Maris hit his 59th home run. Dick faced the slugger twice without yielding his Ruth-tying 60th circuit clout—a scene later depicted in the film 61.
Dick developed into a key piece in the Baltimore bullpen over the next few years. He added a slider and change to his repertoire and had enough on his fastball to take opposing hitters up the ladder. He didn’t get a ton of strikeouts but induced many a harmless fly ball. In 1963, he retired 28 hitters in a row over several outings—joking that his “perfect game” only to 25 days. Baltimore fans especially admired his success against the Yankees, who the Orioles would supplant in the late-1960s and early ’70s as the AL’s reigning dynasty.
Elbow problems diminished Dick’s effectiveness in the pennant-winning 1966 season and he was traded to the Phillies that winter. After two years in Philadelphia, the team cut Dick at the age of 38. Determined to stay in the game, he rejoined the Orioles in spring training and made the team, helping them win another pennant in 1969. In 1970, at age 40, Dick went 10–5 for the O’s as they repeated as AL pennant winners. He notched a save in Game 2 of the World Series against the Reds, discombobulating the Cincinnati sluggers with his change-up and sneaky fastball.
Dick played his final season in 1971 as the oldest player in the AL. He helped the Orioles win a third straight pennant and saved Game 2 against the Pirates in the World Series in what would be his last big-league appearance. It came against the team where it had all started two decades earlier. Dick’s final numbers included 93 wins against 75 losses with 71 saves and a 3.32 ERA. He finished his career with just 23 unintentional walks in more than 450 innings; not surprisingly, his 1.10 WHIP still stands as one of the best of all-time.
Dick accompanied the Orioles on a tour of Japan after the World Series and gave up his final home run as a pro. It was hit by Sadahuru Oh. Although technically retired, Dick suited up for Baltimore in 1972 to throw the occasional batting-practice session. In 1989, the team enshrined Dick in its Hall of Fame. Swarthmore did the same in 2012. He passed away at age 92 in the summer of 2023.