Peter "Pedro" Richards (11 November 1956 – 23 December 2001) was an English

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 in defence for

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 ...

. The son of a

Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...

father and a Spanish mother, Richards was taken by his mother at an early age to

Laguardia, Álava Laguardia ( eu, Guardia) is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the southern province of Álava, in the north of Spain; it belongs to the region of Rioja Alavesa, in the Basque Autonomous Community. It has a population of 1 ...

and lived there until the age of 11 when they moved to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. Richards was taken on as an apprentice at County and signed professional for them in November 1974. He made 399 league appearances for County, his sole

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

club.Caught in time: Notts County promoted to the First Division, 1981
/ref> He was a home crowd favorite particularly because of his sure tackling and consistency. Richards left County at the age of 29 and continued playing semi-professional football for

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

, Oakham United,

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team ...

and Arnold Town. He died in 2001 from a rare strain of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Personal life

His son

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

is also a footballer.'Phenomenal' Notts County youngster Jordan Richards would be prepared to extend Boston United stay
/ref>

References

1956 births 2001 deaths English men's footballers Notts County F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players Footballers from Edmonton, London English people of Spanish descent Deaths from pneumonia in England Oakham United F.C. (Nottinghamshire) players Arnold Town F.C. players Men's association football defenders {{England-footy-defender-1950s-stub