Woodlawn’s Richardson Surpasses 800 Wins In His Coaching Career

RISON - Woodlawn baseball coach Tommy Richardson recently surpassed another milestone in his heralded coaching career as he picked up his 800th victory.His coaching staff surprised him with a plaque commemorating the milestone after his Bears blanked the Drew Central Pirates, 16-0, Monday afternoon at Woodlawn.Richardson got that 800th win when the Bears beat the Rose Bud Ramblers, 6-2, on March 28 in the final game of the Robinson Invitational at Maumelle High School. Richards is in his 33rd season of leading the baseball program at his alma mater.Richardson is securely in second for the most wins by a high school baseball coach, but still as a ways to go to take the lead. Morgan Gilbert, who retired from Tuckerman High School in in 2013, finished his career with 1,030 victories as a high school baseball coach. Gilbert was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 2014 as the only high school coach in the nation to win more than 1,000 games in both baseball and basketball in career that spanned 48 years.“I never thought it would last this long,” he said about his coaching career at Woodlawn. “I thought I would retire after about 25 years and go turkey hunting like Wayne (Richardson, his brother who won four state titles while coaching Watson Chapel High School.)”But Richardson said the joy he gets out of impacting young men at a pivotal time in their lives is what really drives him to stay in it. And, of course, winning doesn’t hurt either.Richardson has nine state championships and four state runner-up finishes to his credit. He has also won 13 regional titles and 25 district championships.As of Monday, Richardson now has an overall coaching record of 803-160. That’s a winning percentage of better than 83 percent.Since taking over at Woodlawn in 1994, Richardson has never had a losing season. The closest he came was in 2020 when the Bears were 3-2 before the Covid pandemic ended th...