"When massive first baseman Dan Brouthers became a Bison on May 30, he became a teammate of Jim (Deacon) White, Jack Rowe and Hardy Richardson, a trio who rate high among the players of the game's early years. By dint of powerful hitting, this quartet soon came to be known as Buffalo's 'Big Four.' " - from the Buffalo Bisons site at minorleaguebaseball.com

    ". . . the Bisons . . . had four of the most redoubtable sluggers in the game - Dan Brouthers, Jim (Deacon) White, Hardy Richardson, and Jack Rowe, who were popularly known as 'The Big Four'." - from an article in Baseball Digest, October 1956, about the Big Four and how they came from Buffalo to Detroit

In 1886, Hardy Richardson led the National League in both home runs and hits, while batting .351 for Detroit. He was the second baseman in baseball's "Big Four" infield of Dan Brouthers at first, Richardson at second, Jack Rowe at shortstop, and Deacon White at third base. When Buffalo dropped out of the NL after the 1885 season, the Detroit team paid $7,000, an astonishing sum at the time, for the entire Buffalo roster just to acquire the Big Four. In 1887, the Big Four led Detroit to the NL pennant, with Richardson contributing 11 home runs, 94 RBI, and a .328 batting average.Richardson was a versatile performer, playing regularly at second, third, left field and center field. He was an excellent offensive player, frequently finishing among league leaders in batting, slugging, on-base percentage, hits, runs scored and nearly every other category. He was much more deserving of Hall of Fame enshrinement than the only 19th century second baseman in Cooperstown, Bid McPhee.