Regarded as one of the finest shortstops in Negro League history, with Hall of Famers Pop Lloyd and Willie Wells, DICK LUNDY was a switch-hitter from Florida who impressed with the bat and the glove. Dubbed “King Richard” by the press, Lundy spent his prime years in Atlantic City, playing for the Bacharach Giants, where he spent several years as a player/manager, winning a couple flags.
Lundy began his professional career around the World War I era as a teenager, playing for independent teams prior to Rube Foster organizing black baseball. After hitting .348 in 1919, King Richard was a highly sought after young ballplayer, and he took advantage of his popularity by signing contracts with three teams for the upcoming 1920 season. Lundy was taken to court to determine which team had claim of his services, and he was instructed to report back to Atlantic City.
Starring with the Bacharach Giants, managed by Dick Redding, limited stats show that Dick paced the team in RBI in 1920 while leading the club with a .329 batting average. The following year he slugged at a .523 clip, prior to the Bacharach Giants joining the Eastern Colored League. King Richard was a fixture on the club, hitting .339 in 1924 when Hall of Famer Pop Lloyd joined the team. Dick’s OPS was near Lloyd’s, with Pop showing an OPS of .878 to Dick’s .863.
After a down year in 1925, Lundy led the club in runs, hits, doubles and batting average in 1926 as the team’s player/manager, anchoring an infield that featured Oliver Marcelle beside him at third base. Dick captured Eastern League pennants in back-to-back seasons, managing the club while he was in his upper-twenties.
Lundy found consistency after his down year in 1925, hitting over .300 in league play the next five seasons. He hit .360 in 1928, then was traded in a blockbuster to Baltimore for Hall of Fame first baseman Ben Taylor. Taylor was an aged slugger at the time, yet well-respected, and Baltimore had to include catcher Mack Eggleston and a bundle of cash to pry Lundy from Atlantic City. King Richard hit .315 his first year in Baltimore, then upped that number to .360 in 1930.
After leaving Baltimore in 1932, Lundy was nomadic in the twilight of his career, but was still so highly regarded that he was selected to start in the first two Negro Leagues All-Star Games. As a veteran infielder for Newark in the late-Thirties, Lundy helped mentor future Hall of Famer Ray Dandridge, who Dick discovered.
Brett Kiser 