223:, a weekly magazine devoted to coverage of all sports, with an emphasis on baseball. Richter hired correspondents from around the country. He was the first editor of the journal, which became the mouthpiece of baseball and a great force in the national pastime. Within a year circulation had grown to 20,000, and by 1886 it was at 40,000. Initially each issue had 16 pages and sold for ten cents.
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By the end of the first quarter of the 20th century, Richter had acquired a reputation as one of baseball's most influential personalities. In fact, he had acquired so much renown that in 1907 the
National League offered him the presidency of the league. Richter declined the offer, wanting instead to
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and was one of the best informed men in the world in regard to the game of Base Ball. He advocated changes in rules from time to time, assisted in the amalgamation of the
American Association and the National League in 1891, and at one time was offered the presidency of the National League. For many
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and was an advocate always of the higher ethics of professional sport. He was for clean Base Ball through and through, and the best policies for the game as a national pastime had no stronger supporter in all the coterie of great Base Ball writers who flourished when Base Ball was beginning to get
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Richter had roles in the promotion of baseball and sportsmanship, as a player's advocate in salary wars, as a force in the amalgamation of the
National and American Association into a twelve-team National League in 1892, in the formation of a new National Agreement (where, however, he opposed the
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as adopted), in prestigious rules committees, and as a mouthpiece against gambling. He had prominent roles in areas such as promotion, record-keeping and shaping of public opinion. He was a financial backer of the 1884
179:, Richter was a journalist from his youth. His early career as an amateur baseball player was an invaluable tool, which provided him with a rich supply of insight into the game and players' lives (
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On
December 12, 1887, Richter and other baseball journalists formed the Base Ball Reporters Association of America, also referred to as the
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that "Amidst all this noise and confusion the star ball player is the only one who can't lose, no matter which side wins" (Shaw, 2003).
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296:. He declared the new league "the emancipator of enslaved players and the enemy of the reserve clause" (Voigt, 1966, p. 130).
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325:. He was survived by his wife Helen and their two children, and was buried without fanfare in the Rockland section, Lot 248 at
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Richter died in his
Philadelphia home on February 12, 1926, at the age of 71, the day after completing the 1926 edition of the
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279:. He continued his prestigious writing career, always seeking to improve the national sport, until the day before his death.
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in it. The next year, becoming disgusted with the "Beer and
Whiskey League" and its Sunday baseball, he helped organize the
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Richter succeeded in lifting the game to these heights, seeing the sport through its darkest scandal in 1920 after the
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145:(January 26, 1854 – February 12, 1926) was an American journalist who served as founder and editor of
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This article is based on the
Baseball Reference Bullpen article. The original can be viewed
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and started the nation's first newspaper sports department of the era while working at the
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from its inception in 1901. Richter died the day after completing the 1926 edition of the
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promote baseball "by lift(ing) the game up to the heights" of a national pastime (
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446:"The Impact of Francis Richter upon the Development of Baseball" (page 1 of 5)
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Richter's
History and Records of Baseball: The American Nation's Chief Sport
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until 1917, when its doors were forever closed due to the outbreak of
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American
Baseball: From Gentlemen's Sport to the Commissioner System
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away from its minor surroundings to its present position in sport.
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History and
Records of Baseball: the American Nation's Chief Sport
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official for many years, and wrote a history of baseball.
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in 1890, Richter changed his allegiance, writing in the
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He warned of the potential problems of corruption in
314:(Philadelphia: Sporting Life Publishing Co., 1914).
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from its inception to its demise, and editor of the
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379:. Philadelphia: Sporting Life Publishing Co., 1914.
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386:. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1966.
237:In 1902 Richter jumped ship to join with the
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19:For other people named Francis Richter, see
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228:National Base Ball Reporters' Association
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848:Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania
204:of baseball in 1882 and to place the
186:In 1872 he began his career with the
163:officials, he was influential in the
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843:Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery
505:1946 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
458:, with 5 library catalog records
321:. The cause of death was bronchial
200:. Richter helped form the original
16:American baseball writer and editor
868:20th-century American male writers
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828:American male non-fiction writers
813:20th-century American journalists
808:19th-century American journalists
823:20th-century American historians
78:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
21:Francis Richter (disambiguation)
853:Sportswriters from Pennsylvania
159:. As a writer and associate of
121:History and Records of Baseball
776:National Baseball Hall of Fame
774:Italics (later elected to the
433:GNU Free Documentation License
259:He died on February 12, 1926.
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351:Reach's American League Guide
165:early development of the game
863:Historians from Pennsylvania
431:. It is available under the
219:In 1883 Richter founded the
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833:American newspaper editors
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858:Writers from Philadelphia
818:American male journalists
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409:www.remembermyjourney.com
349:years Mr. Richter edited
327:West Laurel Hill Cemetery
299:After the failure of the
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493:Honor Rolls of Baseball
364:Honor Rolls of Baseball
143:Francis Charles Richter
135:Honor Rolls of Baseball
272:, 1926, p. 351).
241:'s founders. He was a
206:Philadelphia Athletics
337:Obituary in the 1926
310:He was the author of
210:Philadelphia Phillies
104:News Paper Journalism
618:John Montgomery Ward
344:Mr. Richter founded
319:Reach Official Guide
202:American Association
456:Library of Congress
448:by Amber Shaw, 2003
86:Journalist, Editor
30:Francis C. Richter
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752:William J. Slocum
405:"Francis Richter"
294:Philadelphia team
290:Union Association
277:Black Sox Scandal
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72:February 12, 1926
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717:William B. Hanna
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570:Arthur Soden
560:John Heydler
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412:. Retrieved
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375:Richter, F.
370:Bibliography
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74:(1926-02-12)
62:Pennsylvania
58:Philadelphia
803:1926 deaths
798:1854 births
732:Tim Murnane
722:Frank Hough
712:Harry Cross
653:Billy Evans
611:Frank Selee
414:29 December
331:Bala Cynwyd
270:Reach Guide
254:World War I
181:Reach Guide
157:Reach Guide
153:Reach Guide
792:Categories
727:Sid Mercer
669:Kick Kelly
647:Bob Emslie
597:Ned Hanlon
514:Executives
503:Selected,
391:References
382:Voigt, D.
232:Cincinnati
83:Occupation
51:1854-01-26
675:Bill Klem
664:Tim Hurst
565:Bob Quinn
527:Ed Barrow
323:pneumonia
263:Influence
183:, 1926).
171:Biography
762:Joe Vila
584:Managers
358:See also
292:and its
175:Born in
161:baseball
91:Language
628:Umpires
212:in the
109:Subject
95:English
112:Sports
64:, U.S.
230:, at
101:Genre
429:here
416:2022
69:Died
45:Born
454:at
329:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
