Hall of Fame
Baseball (1983-87)
A three-sport star at Reno’s Hug High School in football, track and field and baseball, Rob Richie decided to focus on baseball in college and quickly became one of the best players in school history. He had a solid season for the Pack as a freshman in 1984, hitting .298 with seven homers, 39 RBI and 13 stolen bases and being named to the All-West Coast Athletic Conference second team. Richie hit .322 as a sophomore in 1985 with eight homers, 40 RBI and a team-best seven triples. He also walked 29 times and struck out just 20 times and again was named to the All-WCAC Second team. Head coach Gary Powers also used Richie on the mound in 1985 in eight games (five starts). He was 1-1 with a 5.86 ERA, striking out 39 in 35.1 innings. He then blossomed as a junior in 1986, hitting a team-best .407 with 15 doubles, six homers, 48 RBI and 13 steals. He was named to the All-WCAC First Team and was clearly on the radar of major league scouts. He led the Pack in hitting once again at .389 in 1987 and also led the team with nine homers, 50 RBI, nine triples and 20 steals. The Sporting News named him an All-American, the Pack’s first All-American since pitcher Fred Dallimore in 1966. The WCAC also made Richie a first-team all-conference selection. Richie’s nine triples led the conference in 1987 and his 22 career triples remain a WCAC record to this day. Richie ended his Wolf Pack career as the undisputed best player in school history, the career record holder in games played (198), at-bats (723), runs scored (197), hits (254), doubles (55), triples (22), home runs (30), RBI (181), walks (120) and steals (47). He also hit .353, which was fourth all-time when he graduated.
The Detroit Tigers drafted Richie in the second round of the June 1987 draft and he quickly found success in professional baseball, earning Double A league MVP honors in Glen Falls, N.Y. He made his Major League debut in Detroit on August 19, 1989, playing in 19 games for the Tigers and hitting .265 (13-for-49) with four doubles, two triples, a homer and 10 RBI. He started 13 games (10 in left field), playing alongside veterans Fred Lynn, Chet Lemon and Gary Pettis for the most part in the outfield. Richie showed tremendous promise for a young player but stunned the baseball world when he decided to retire from baseball in 1990 at the age of 24. He later became a probation officer and worked in the healthcare industry in Kentucky.
