Where Are They Now?

A painting hangs in Derrick Richardson's house that invariably makes him smile. It reminds him of special friends, of a talented team, and a wonderful season. It's a scene from the 1985 Southwest Conference Tournament at Arkansas' George Cole Field. Neither the SWC nor Cole Field exists today but the final play of that tourney - the first league championship won by the baseball Razorbacks - remains fresh in Richardson's mind. "I got the final out on a ground ball to me," Richardson said. "We were all celebrating near the pitcher's mound and I was on top of the pile. Somebody took a picture of it. I had somebody paint that for me." Richardson, now a doctor in his hometown of Fort Smith, was a microbiology pre-med major and the senior shortstop for the '85 Hogs, who are arguably the most talented UA team ever. The '85 Hogs, third at the College World Series, were 51-15 - tied for the most wins in UA history with the '87 and '89 CWS teams - and boast the highest winning percentage since the 1908 squad (18-5). Ten UA players were drafted in '85, still the most from any Hog team. "It was nice to be part of something like that," Richardson said. "I draw back on that senior year more than anything else. I still talk to Mark Jackson, my college roommate, every week." Richardson's mother was a nurse and he had academic scholarship offers to many schools but decided to play baseball for two years for coach Bill Crowder at Westark (now UA-Fort Smith). Richardson, who played basketball and football at Fort Smith Northside, was drafted after each of his four college seasons - by the Orioles (second round), Reds (fifth), Cubs (seventh) and Phillies (21st). "Derrick has tremendous character," said former Hogs coach Norm DeBriyn, who recently watched an Arkansas game at Baum Stadium with Richardson and his son Adam, 11. "Derrick worked his butt off his senior year." "He had tools," said former UA hitting coach Doug Clark. "He played hard and he was intense. That's what it took to play baseball and get his medical degree." "He really solidified us defensively," DeBriyn said. "He could make the routine play and the spectacular play. He was kind of the glue, the cohesiveness, in our locker room, too." Richardson, who is modest and protective of his privacy, was one of five black starters for the Hogs in '85, an unusual ratio in college baseball which garnered national publicity. "Why that's important to me is that I think all five graduated from college," Richardson said. "That whole team was special."