Frederic Carl Reichardt (born March 16, 1943) is a former Major League

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the Los Angeles / California Angels (1964–70), Washington Senators (1970),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1971–73) and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

(1973–74). He batted and threw right-handed. Reichardt was a spectacular two-sport star at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, twice leading the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in batting, and starring as a fullback on the 1962 #2 ranked

Badgers Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...

Rose Bowl team, which was defeated in the 1963 Rose Bowl by #1 ranked USC in the "comeback that never was" where the Badgers scored 23 points in the last 12 minutes, but still lost by 5 points (42 to 37). His

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

playing career never went beyond being selected by the

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in the 17th round (238th overall) of the

1965 NFL Draft The 1965 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the fail ...

.1965 NFL Draft, Saturday, November 28, 1964 – Pro Sports Transactions.
Retrieved May 25, 2020 His athletic prowess was highly rated by all Major League Baseball scouts, and when a bidding war ensued for his signing, he received a $200,000 ($ today) signing bonus from the Los Angeles Angels, a record for that time. It was the bidding war for Reichardt that ultimately led Major League Baseball to institute a draft, which started in 1965, with

Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...

being the first ever #1 overall selection (he was drafted by the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

). In 1966, Reichardt became the first player to hit a home run at Anaheim Stadium. Later that season, after batting .288 with 16 home runs and 44 RBI through just 89 games, he was diagnosed with a kidney ailment that necessitated the removal of the kidney. Although he recovered to hit .265 with 17 home runs in 1967, and .255 with 21 home runs in 1968, he was never quite the same after the operation. After hitting only 13 home runs in 1969, he was traded with

Aurelio Rodríguez Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr. (December 28, 1947 – September 23, 2000), sometimes known by the nickname "Chi Chi", was a Mexican professional baseball player, who spent the bulk of his Major League career with the Detroit Tigers. Known ...

to the Washington Senators early in the 1970 season for 3rd baseman Ken McMullen. After a trade to the White Sox in 1971, he managed to hit .278 with 19 homers. From there, age and injuries took their toll and he never again attained double figures in home runs in a season. He retired after 1 at-bat in the 1974 season.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reichardt, Rick 1943 births Living people Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Baseball players from Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers baseball players All-American college baseball players National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Major League Baseball left fielders Hawaii Islanders players Los Angeles Angels players California Angels players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Chicago White Sox players Kansas City Royals players Players of American football from Wisconsin American football fullbacks Wisconsin Badgers football players