 Richards was already showing a keen baseball mind as Atlanta's catcher in when he helped turn around pitcher Dutch Leonard's career.After three seasons in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Leonard had been sent back to the minor leagues where he played with Richards in Atlanta.Richards encouraged him to throw a knuckleball and, within two years, Leonard was back in the major leagues with the Washington Senators, where he became a 20-game winner in 1939.