This site is no longer active.

Back to Women of Achievement

Dot Richardson

BIRTHDAY: Sept. 22, 1961

ABOUT HER
When Dot Richardson was playing catch at 10 years old, a man noticed her great throw and asked if she wanted to play on his Little League team. This was on the condition that she cut her hair short and would be called Bob.

She went on to become the captain of the American Olympic women's softball team while attending medical school in orthopedic surgery. After ending 20-hour shifts at the hospital she would do workouts in her room so she could compete in the first woman's softball team at the Olympics in 1996. She hit the first home run in Olympic softball history, helping the U.S. team win the gold medal.

AWARDS/HONORS

• Four time All-American in college
• NCAA Player of the Decade for the 1980s
• Hit first home run in Olympic softball history
• Won a gold medal as the team captain for U.S. Women's Softball Team
• 14 Amateur Softball Association (ASA) All-America selections
• 7 Erv Lind Awards as the outstanding defensive player at the ASA Women's Major Fast Pitch National Championships
• Three times named Most Valuable Player
• four Pan American Games gold medals (1979, 1987, 1991, 1995)

Search our past database for famous women astronauts, politicians, athletes, mathematicians, authors, and educators: More Women of Achievement.