Richard William Richards (14 February 1890 – 29 January 1934) was a Welsh
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played in various
forward positions in the
Football League for
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
,
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
and
Fulham, and internationally for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
Career
Richards was born in
Glyn Ceiriog
Glyn Ceiriog is the principal settlement of the Ceiriog Valley and a community in Wrexham County Borough, north-east Wales. Glyn Ceiriog translates simply as Ceiriog Valley, though there are other villages in the valley. The village and commun ...
and played non-league football for Bronygarth,
Chirk and
Oswestry United before moving to
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
.
During his time at Wolves, Richards played 88 League games either side of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, scoring 22 goals.
[ He gained five ]caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
for Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
while with the club, scoring in a 2–1 win against England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
during the 1919–20 British Home Championship.
He joined West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in 1922 for a fee of £300. Initially joining as an outside-left
Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...
, he was moved to the opposite flank to accommodate Jimmy Ruffell.[ The 1922–23 season saw Richards make 34 ]Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
appearances. He also made 10 cup appearances for the club, including the 1923 FA Cup Final
The 1923 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United F.C., West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece ...
loss to Bolton Wanderers. The following season, after promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
to the First Division, Richards made a further ten appearances, including a single FA Cup appearance that saw the Hammers bow out of the competition to Second Division Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
. Richards picked up more international caps, playing at inside-left
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, at the 1923–24 British Home Championship, which saw victories for Wales against all three other teams.[
In 1924, after 53 appearances for West Ham, Richards left for Fulham.][ He made 24 appearances for the west London club, scoring twice, but his time there was hampered by injury.][ He went on to play for Welsh teams, Mold, where he gained the last of 9 caps, and Colwyn Bay United, where he finished his career.][ He then went to work for an electricity company in Cheshire. During this time, he sustained a back injury which led to his death, at the age of 42.][
]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Dick
1890 births
1934 deaths
Welsh men's footballers
Wales men's international footballers
Men's association football forwards
English Football League players
Chirk AAA F.C. players
Oswestry United F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
Colwyn Bay F.C. players
Industrial accident deaths