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Ashburn spent 12 of his 15 major league seasons as the Phillies' center fielder (from 1948 through 1959), during which he led the National League twice in batting average and routinely led the league in fielding percentage. Upon his retirement from playing in 1962, he became a radio/TV announcer for the Phillies, where he was paired for 27 seasons with legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas. Ashburn also regularly wrote for the Philadelphia Bulletin and, later, the Philadelphia Daily News .
In 1995 Ashburn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Hall's Veterans Committee, and was inducted with Phillies great Mike SchmidtMichael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949 in Dayton, Ohio) is a former professional baseball player, playing his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies, and is widely regarded as having been the greatest third baseman in the history of baseball.. Over 25,000 fans, mostly from Philadelphia, traveled to Cooperstown for the ceremony.
Richie Ashburn died unexpectedly of a heart attack in New York City. A large crowd of fans paid tribute to him, passing by his coffin in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. He is interred in the Gladwyne Methodist Church Cemetery, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania .