Remembering Madison Central Coach Don Richardson: ‘His legacy is going to live on forever.’
Don Richardson, who led Madison Central’s baseball team to a perfect 40-0 season and a state title in 1982 during a legendary 35-year coaching career, died Saturday at the age of 88.
“He had a love for Madison Central,” said current Indians baseball Coach Steve Roof. “He had a passion. It was really a passion for Madison Central and the kids. ... His legacy is going to live on forever at Madison Central.”
From 1958 to 1992 Eric Donald “Don” Richardson compiled a record of 952-157 for the Indians, a winning percentage of 85.8 percent that remains the highest among baseball coaches on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s all-time wins list. His 952 wins rank him sixth. He also coached the basketball team for 17 years, amassing 287 wins and leading the program to its first ever Sweet Sixteen in 1987. They reached the state semifinals that year.
“Madison Central lost a legend in Coach Don Richardson,” the school’s principal, Brandon Fritz, posted on Twitter on Sunday. “His work while at MCHS helped build a tradition that is still thriving today. We are forever grateful for his passion and vision for our school. His legacy will live on forever at Madison Central!”
His 1982 baseball team wasn’t just unbeaten, it was almost completely unchallenged, according to stories by former Herald-Leader high school writer Mike Fields. Their average scoring margin was 11-2. They rolled through the postseason by outscoring opponents 80-7, including a 9-0 win over Pleasure Ridge Park in the championship game. The team’s batting average was an astounding .375. USA Today declared that 1982 team its national champion.
“I really can’t explain it,” Richardson said in a WKYT television interview sometime after the season while wearing a “State Champs 40-0” cap. “I just feel so humble and grateful and thankful to the Lord that we were able to do this, to go through a season like this. This is something that will never happen in their lifetime, and I feel very fortunate indeed to be associated with a bunch of young men as fine as these fellas are.”
Though KHSAA record books since 1941 do not reflect seasonal records, the Indians are believed to be the only unbeaten high school baseball champion in state history. It certainly hasn’t been repeated since.
Roof has been Madison Central’s coach for 20 years and called Richardson a mentor he could rely on for insight and an occasional talk with his team. Richardson came to almost every home game over the years of his retirement and often watched practices, Roof said.
“He was just very positive and a good role model to our players,” Roof said.
The small road off Georgia Street leading to the baseball field that now bears his name is marked by a ceremonial “40-0 Drive” street sign. A large commemorative 1982 team photo plaque also stands outside the complex, affectionately nicknamed “The Don.”
Richardson published an autobiography, “Fodder on the Ground” with friend Kyle Sowers in 2015. In 2013, a SportsHistoryFoundation.org documentary highlighted the 40-0 season.
His coaching career at Madison Central, his alma mater, began after a standout pitching career at Eastern Kentucky University that was interrupted by a two-year stint in the United States Army. In 1954, he went 8-3 on the mound for the Ohio Valley Conference champions.
Richardson has been inducted into the Kentucky High School Baseball Hall of Fame, the Dawahare’s/KHSAA Hall of Fame and the Eastern Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame. He was Kentucky High School Baseball Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1983.
Richardson was preceded in death by his wife of 44 years, Anne Bush Tribble Richardson, in 2009. Survivors include two sons, Steve Tribble (Karen) and Tommy Tribble (Peggy); two daughters, Tanda Perkins and Lee Anne Browder (Scott); one brother Lester Richardson (Cletha); four sisters, Allena Lathery, Mary Black (Jimmy), Ruby Hamilton, and Carol Hensley (Chuck); and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A private family service will be held 11 a.m. Thursday at First Christian Church in Richmond under the direction of Oldham, Roberts and Powell Funeral Home. The service will be live-streamed at Facebook.com/donrichardsonmemorial.
