bus to Norfolk from Sumter with $85 in coins friends and family had given him. After Richardson batted just .211 in his first 27 games with the Tars, the Yankees assigned him to a Class D team, the Olean Yankees of the PONY League. With Olean, he batted .412 in 32 games and hit his first home run. In 1954, Richardson was promoted, heading up to the Class A Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League without having to return to Norfolk. Spending the whole year in Binghamton, he ranked among the Eastern League leaders in games (141, tied for first), runs (81, fifth), hits (171, first), doubles (29, second to Clyde Parris's 40), and batting average (.310, second to Parris's .313). For his contributions, Richardson was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player (MVP). Richardson spent most of spring training with the Yankees in 1955 but was sent to the Class AAA Denver Bears of the American Association to start the year. In 119 games with the Bears, he batted .296 with 146 hits, 99 runs scored, 21 doubles, 12 triples, six home runs, and 59 RBI. When Gil McDougald found himself on the receiving end of a line drive during batting practice in August 1955, the Yankees called up Richardson. He debuted on August 5, 1955, getting his first hit against Hall of Famer Jim Bunning in a 3–0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. In the field, he was a "nervous wreck" as he later described, but no balls were hit to him. He started four games at second base in three days (including an August 7 doubleheader), then entered three games in the late innings at shortstop before getting sent to the minor leagues on August 15 to make room for a pitcher returning from the disabled list. For some reason, he was sent to the Richmond Virginians of the Class AAA International League this time, with whom he finished the season. Called up again in September, he appeared in four more games for the Yankees before the end of the year. In 1956, Richardson started the season with the Yankees. However, he only appeared in five games for them, batting .143 before getting sent back to Denver May 13. With the Bears, he ranked among the American Association leaders in batting average (.328, third), runs scored (102, sixth), hits (175, fourth), doubles (30, ninth), and triples (12,