Richard James Sheppard (14 February 1945 – 18 October 1998) was an English professional

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 le ...

who played as a goalkeeper in The Football League for West Bromwich Albion, Bristol Rovers, and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. Sheppard represented Gloucester Schools as a child, before being signed by West Brom as an apprentice in 1960. He joined the professional ranks at the club in 1963 and went on to play 39 League games in six years with ''The Baggies''. He moved back to his home city of Bristol in 1969 to join Bristol Rovers, and made 150 League appearances before suffering a skull fracture in January 1973 in a match against Tranmere Rovers at Eastville Stadium. It was eleven months before he was to play again, when he joined Torquay United on loan in December 1973 in a deal that was set up in a roadside meeting between Rovers and Torquay near

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

. He played just two games for Torquay, and it was a further year before he finally made it back into the Bristol Rovers lineup. His only appearance for ''The Pirates'' after breaking his skull came against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in December 1974, and after conceding four goals in the second half his professional career came to an abrupt end. Although he was sent out on loan to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

later in the season he never played in the Football League again. In the summer of 1975, Sheppard joined non-League side Weymouth, where he spent a year, followed by a further year back in Bristol with Portway Bristol. He moved to

Paulton Rovers Paulton Rovers Football Club is an English football club based at the First 4 Pools Stadium on Winterfield Road in the growing village of Paulton near Bristol. They were established in 1881 and currently play in the Southern Football League Div ...

in 1977, and in January 1980 became the goalkeeping

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for his former club Bristol Rovers. He died in 1998 at the age of 53.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Dick 1945 births 1998 deaths Footballers from Bristol English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Portway Bristol F.C. players Paulton Rovers F.C. players English Football League players