Not far from boxing great lies forgotten lefty hurler

By Rob Miech

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Six rows up and a spot to the right of Sonny Liston, Robert “Bo” Belinsky lies in Davis Memorial Park.

Don Richardson slowly runs his fingers over the letters of Belinsky’s name on a grave marker.

The lettering includes May 5, 1962, the date Belinsky, a lefty for the Los Angeles Angels, threw a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium, the first on the West Coast.

Richardson and Belinsky became close after the one-no-hit-wonder came to Las Vegas in 1989.

Richardson even arranged a golf game for legendary New York Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle, who wanted to play with Belinsky, six months before Mantle died in 1995.

Belinsky had his demons, Richardson says, referring to his drinking problems. When Belinsky died in 2001, Richardson and friend Dean Chance, a former Cy Young Award winner, chose Belinsky’s grave site: close to Liston, but not too close.

“That’s why we picked it,” Richardson says. “We figured the two of them would have a hell of a time together.”