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Dot Richardson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the softball player. For the author, see Dorothy Richardson.

Dot Richardson
Current position
TitleHead Coach
TeamLiberty
ConferenceConference USA
Record346–230 (.601)
Biographical details
Born (1961-09-22) September 22, 1961 (age 63)
Orlando, Florida
Alma materUCLA
Adelphi University
University of Louisville
USC
Playing career
1980Western Illinois
1981–1983UCLA
Position(s)Shortstop
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2014–presentLiberty
Head coaching record
Overall346–230 (.601)
Medal record
Women's softball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team competition
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Team competition

Dorothy Gay Richardson (born September 22, 1961) is an American physician and former two-time gold medal-winning Olympian softball player at shortstop. Richardson is currently the head coach at Liberty.[1] Richardson played college softball at UCLA and won the inaugural NCAA Division I softball tournament in 1982.[2] She is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.[3]

Education

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Richardson attended Western Illinois University for one year and the University of California Los Angeles for four years.[4] Richardson has a master's degree in exercise physiology and health from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.[5] She attended the University of Louisville School of Medicine and received an M.D. degree in 1993. She then entered her five-year orthopedic residency program at the University of Southern California. She took a one-year leave of absence to participate in the 1996 Olympic Games, where she and her teammates captured the first ever Olympic gold medal in softball. Between 1999 and 2000, she did a fellowship in sports medicine at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Sports Medicine Clinic in Los Angeles.[5] She is the aunt of entrepreneur and inventor, Lisa Seacat DeLuca.

Softball career

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Dot began her softball career in 1972 playing for the Union Park Jets in Orlando.[6] In early 1975, at the age of 13, Dot was a member of the Orlando Rebels in the ASA (Amateur Softball Association of America), She became the youngest player ever to play in the ASA Women's Major Fast-Pitch National Championships.[5] After graduating from Colonial High School in Orlando,[7] Richardson played for Western Illinois, before transferring to UCLA,[8] where she played for the UCLA Bruins from 1980 to 1984.[9] While there she helped the Bruins win their first NCAA championship in 1982.[10]

After college Dot played professionally, starting her career in Orlando with the Florida Rebels. She then joined the Raybestos Brakettes of Stratford, Connecticut in 1984, where she remained until 1994. She ended her professional career with the California Commotion of Woodland Hills, California.[6]

Richardson was a key part of the United States national team that won the gold medal during the sport's Olympic debut in 1996 hitting the home run that won the game. She was also part of the 2000 gold medal-winning team in Sydney.[6] After her win at the Olympics, she continued with her career as an orthopedic surgeon. Dot Richardson was Executive Director and Medical Director of the National Training Center until 2012.[11] She is the head softball coach at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia.[12] Richardson now serves as a board chair for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Softball Ministry, where her husband Bob Pinto is the national director.[13]

Coaching career

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Richardson was named as the head softball coach at Liberty University on July 17, 2013.[14] The Flames have shown improvement in each of Richardson's first five seasons. After an 11–46 record her first season in 2014, Liberty won 29 games in 2015. Richardson then posted her first winning record in 2016 and followed that year with two straight regular season Big South titles in 2017 and 2018 with 45+ wins in both seasons, winning the Big South conference tournament in 2018 and receiving a regional automatic qualifying spot to play at South Carolina. Richardson also coached the Flames to the NISC postseason tournament title in 2017.[15]

Awards

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Richardson is the recipient of the 1998 Sports Legends Award, the 1997 Babe Zaharias Award (Female Athlete of the Year), the 1996 Amateur Athletic Foundation Athlete of the Year, inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1996, Nuprin Comeback of the Year Award in 1990, four-time Sullivan Award nominee and inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame in 1999. Her college honors include NCAA Player of the Decade (1980s), three-time NCAA All-American, two-time AIAW All-American, three-time UCLA MVP and 1983 All University Award at UCLA. She was named MVP in the Women's Major Fast Pitch National Championship four times. She is an inductee of the National Softball Hall of Fame.[16]

Statistics

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UCLA Bruins

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[17][18]

YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
1982 40 137 17 45 .328 8 0 4 8 61 .445% 22 4 4 4
1983 47 156 25 52 .333 17 0 4 8 68 .436% 19 6 8 8
TOTALS 87 293 42 97 .331 25 0 8 16 129 .440% 41 10 12 12

Team USA

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[19]

YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO
1996 OLYMPICS 9 33 4 9 .272 9 3 0 2 20 .606% 2 6

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Liberty Lady Flames (Big South Conference) (2014–2018)
2014 Liberty 11–46 4–20 9th
2015 Liberty 29–30 12–12 4th
2016 Liberty 31–28 16–8 3rd
2017 Liberty 46–24 16–5 1st NISC Champions
2018 Liberty 47–12 18–3 1st NCAA Regional
Liberty Lady Flames (ASUN Conference) (2019–2023)
2019 Liberty 40–22 16–5 3rd NISC (3rd)
2020 Liberty 10–13 Season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Liberty 44–15 16–2 1st NCAA Regional
2022 Liberty 44–18 23–1 1st NCAA Regional
2023 Liberty 44–22 19–5 2nd NCAA Regional
Liberty Lady Flames (Conference USA) (2024–present)
2024 Liberty 0–0 0–0
Liberty: 346–230 (.601) 140–61 (.697)
Total: 346–230 (.601)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Dot Richardson | Softball | Liberty Flames". Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  2. ^ "UCLA WCWS Stats 1982". Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  3. ^ "Career Season Records" (PDF). Uclabruins.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "About Dot". Dot Richardson. February 1, 2005. Archived from the original on January 4, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2005.
  5. ^ a b c Aquitania, Ray E. M.D. (2011) Jock-Docs: World-Class Athletes Wearing White Coats ISBN 9781609106126
  6. ^ a b c "Famous Softball Players". Softball Performance. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  7. ^ "Dot Richardson, Student-Athlete, Inducted 2015". Florida High School Athletic Association. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  8. ^ "Softball Coaching Staff". liberty. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  9. ^ "Collected Wisdom". newsok. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  10. ^ "Softball Coaching Staff". Liberty. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  11. ^ "Olympic gold medalist dot richardson removed as head of National Training Center in Claremont". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  12. ^ "Softball 2017 Season Coaching Staff". liberty. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  13. ^ "Softball Coaching Staff". liberty. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  14. ^ Lang, Chris (July 17, 2013). "Liberty hires former Olympian Richardson to coach softball program". The News & Advance. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  15. ^ "No. 4 Seed Campbell Blanks 9th-Seeded Liberty, 7-0, in Elimination Game | Liberty Flames". Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  16. ^ "National Softball Hall of Fame Member: Dot Richardson". Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  17. ^ "Final 1982 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  18. ^ "Final 1983 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  19. ^ "Olympic Games Schedule/Results". Teamusa.org. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
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