Richardson played for six major league teams, with his longest stretches having been for the Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885), Detroit Wolverines (1886–1888) and Boston Reds (1890–91).

[4] Richardson began playing organized baseball with semipro teams in South Jersey and Philadelphia in the early 1870s.

He compiled a .283 batting average, earned a 2.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating, and ranked fifth in the National League with 10 triples and fourth with 16 bases on balls.

With the move, his batting average jumped to .291, and his WAR rating bounced back to 2.5 -- 10th best among the league's position players.

Richardson handled the move reasonably well, as he led the league's second basemen with 275 putouts and ranked second with a 6.69 range factor and 63 errors.

From 1881 to 1888, Richardson was one of four Buffalo (later Detroit) infielders with Dan Brouthers, Jack Rowe, and Deacon White who were known in baseball as the "Big Four."

Defensively, he led the league's second basemen with a career high 6.88 range factor, and ranked second at the position in assists (344) and putouts (289).

[1] In a game against Philadelphia on July 20, 1883, both Richardson and Jack Rowe were credited with home runs when outfielder Conny Doyle was unable to find balls they hit into a patch of deep of grass in the left field corner.

[14] During the 1884 season, Richardson played 71 games at second base and 24 in the outfield, as the "Big Four" led Buffalo to a third place finish and a 64–47 (.577) record – the highest winning percentage in the club's history.

When the next batter hit a ground ball, Gore tackled Richardson at second base before he could complete the relay throw.

Possibly flustered by this display, Richardson in turn struck Anson square in the head with his throw, which was delivered hard enough that it bounced all the way into the grandstands.

[1] League officials initially halted the sale, but ultimately allowed it to proceed, provided the Big Four did not play for Detroit until the start of the 1886 season.

[21] For Richardson, the 1886 season was the best of his career with a 7.0 WAR rating – the fourth highest among the National League's position players.

[1] Defensively, Richardson played at multiple positions during the 1886 season, including 80 games in the outfield, 42 at second base, and four as a pitcher (12 innings, 4.50 ERA).

The team won the National League pennant with a 79-45 record and then defeated the St. Louis Browns in the 1887 World Series.

He compiled a .304 batting average and 3.9 WAR rating and ranked among the National League leaders with 122 runs scored (8th), 163 hits (9th), 47 stolen bases (8th), and 10 triples (10th).

[25] In 1890, Richardson and teammate Dan Brouthers played in the newly-formed Players' League, joining the Boston Reds.

Richardson said he would remain loyal to the Players' League even if it could only pay him $10 a week and added: "I held up my hand and swore that I would stick to the brotherhood...

Richardson again played in the outfield for the 1891 Reds, but he was limited to 74 games,[1] having been laid up at his home in Gloucester City, New Jersey, after suffering a broken bone in his foot.

[1] From May to June 1898, Richardson made a brief comeback at age 43 as a player for the Utica Pent-Ups in the New York State League.

In reporting on the wedding, The Sporting News wrote: "Mr. Richardson's fame as a ball player extends from Maine to California, and is only surpassed by his genial gentlemanly bearing and manner, which have earned for him the best wishes of innumerable friends for his future happiness.

"[33] By 1905, Richardson and his wife had moved to German Flatts and later to Ilion, both in Herkimer County, New York, where he worked for the Remington Typewriter Company.

The lead character, Nucky Thompson, portrayed by Steve Buscemi, noted that he had owned an autographed catcher's mitt signed by Hardy Richardson when he was a child.

After his father made him fight four older boys to get it back, Nucky was beaten unconscious and spent 11 days in the hospital.