Geoffrey Richmond (born March 1941) was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

chairman of

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

from 1994 to 2002, and previously chairman of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

Career

Richmond was born and raised in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, where he attended Roundhay Grammar School. After leaving school, he worked as a salesman, selling children's encyclopedias door-to-door, car bulbs and car bumper and window stickers, before initially retiring before the age of 40. He bought Ronson Lighters from the receivers for £250,000 before selling it in 1994 for £10m. Richmond became chairman of

on 27 January 1994 when he and David Simpson switched positions, with Simpson moving to

. He immediately loaned Bradford £2.3m to clear the club debts. He was at Bradford during their most successful times, including their first appearance at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in the 1996 Second Division play-off final and their promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

in the 1998–99 season. He left after the club was relegated in 2001 and went into administration in 2002, having lost the confidence of the fans. The failure of the club was put down to heavy spending in the club's second season in the Premier League and the collapse of

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with the resulting loss of television rights. Richmond said: "I will never, ever, forgive myself for spending the money we did. Looking back now, it was six weeks of madness and I hold my hands up." He later added: "I went into my office on the following Monday and cleared my desk. As I drove away, I was in tears. It had been my life, and I have never been back since. Richmond was later linked with

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

and

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 S ...

before being declared bankrupt in 2004. He owed £3.3m to the Inland Revenue, for the sale of Ronson 10 years previously; the sum included £1m in interest. Richmond was also an advocate of the Phoenix League, a proposed second tier of the Premier League.

Personal life

He is married to Elizabeth. They have one son Michael. Geoffrey also has an older son David and two daughters, Dawn and Deborah, from his first marriage to Barbara. In July 2000, he was made a Doctor of Letters from the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...

. Richmond was also chairman of New Rover Cricket Club, in

Adel, Leeds Adel is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. To its immediate south is Weetwood, to the west are Cookridge and Holt Park, to the east are Alwoodley and Moortown, and to the north are Bramhope, Arthington and Eccup. It forms part of the ...

References

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Geoffrey Living people Sportspeople from Leeds Bradford City A.F.C. directors and chairmen Year of birth uncertain People educated at Roundhay School 1941 births