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

. 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

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for

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

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

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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