Richard Lee Stuart (November 7, 1932 - December 15, 2002) was a Major League Baseball first baseman from 1958 to 1969. Throughout his baseball career, Stuart was known as a fine hitter, but a subpar fielder, garnering the unique nickname of "Dr. Strangeglove" for his poor defense. That was a play on words of the movie Dr. Strangelove, which was released in the middle years of Stuart's career. Similarly, the movie Goldfinger inspired another nickname, "Stonefingers". [1] In 1963, he set a record by committing 29 errors, a major league record for first basemen that still stands.
Stuart played the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox. He hit 228 home runs in his Major League Baseball career, with a batting average of .264. He was elected to the All-Star team in 1961. While Stuart never led the league in home runs, he finished in the top ten in five seasons (1959-61, 1963-64). As a minor league player, Stuart smashed 66 home runs for the Lincoln club of the Class A Western League in 1956; it remains one of the highest totals in the history of minor league baseball.
Stuart was a member of the Pirates' 1960 World Series-winning team. He was on deck when Bill Mazeroski hit the ninth inning home run off Ralph Terry to win the 1960 Series at Forbes Field.
Stuart grew up in Redwood City, California graduating from Sequoia High School. Stuart died of cancer in Redwood City.
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