Raymond William Richards (July 16, 1906 – September 18, 1974) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach on both the college and professional levels, including head coach for the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Richards was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n lineman at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

from 1927 to 1929, then joined the NFL's

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won ...

in 1930. During his playing days, he became known for a notorious move that has since been outlawed: the "lift", in which Richards used his elbow to hit the opposing center as he snapped the ball. Moves such as that helped him in his off-season pursuit of wrestling, an endeavor that saw him travel across the country competing in matches. Richards played two seasons with the Yellow Jackets until the team disbanded in 1931, then he shifted to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he played another two seasons with

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chic ...

's Bears. In 1934, he moved on to play a season with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, who had just moved from their previous home in

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. ...

. After a final season with the Bears the next year, Richards headed west to serve as a player-coach for two seasons with the

Los Angeles Bulldogs The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs). Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor of ...

of the fledgling

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

, helping the team finish undefeated during his second year. On April 5, 1937, he was appointed line coach at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he served under three different head coaches over the next decade. In an era marked by the looming specter of World War II, Richards was part of two Bruin squads that competed in the Rose Bowl. He resigned on December 11, 1947, and took a similar position in 1948 at nearby

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

. One season working with the Waves' linemen led to Richards's promotion to head coach on April 26, 1949. After two seasons in that capacity, he was let go on January 19, 1951, due to budget cuts, but found work seven weeks later as an assistant with the NFL's

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. During his first year working under close friend

Joe Stydahar Joseph Lee Stydahar (March 17, 1912 – March 23, 1977), sometimes listed as Joseph Leo Stydahar, and sometimes known by the nickname "Jumbo Joe", was an American professioinall football player and coach. He was inducted into the Pro Football H ...

, the team captured the NFL championship, but then dropped a first-round playoff game in 1952 after Stydahar was fired early in the season. Richards was dismissed after the season, but was hired by the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

on January 12, 1953. When Stydahar was named head coach of the Chicago Cardinals just weeks later, he attempted to bring Richards along, but NFL commissioner

Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...

stopped this effort, citing Richards's signed contract with the Colts. After a disastrous campaign in which the Colts finished 3–9, Richards was among the coaches let go, allowing him to join the Cardinals' staff. The 1954 campaign proved to be even worse as the team won just two of 12 games, giving them a 3–20–1 record under Stydahar's leadership. That lack of success resulted in a coaching change on June 2, 1955, when Stydahar was fired and Richards was elevated to head coach. Following a 4–7–1 season, the team appeared to be improving with a 7–5 mark in 1956. However, a 3–9 season the year after made another coaching change inevitable, and Richards resigned on January 4, 1958. Among the reasons Richards was unable to fashion a winner was his insistence on playing quarterback

Lamar McHan Clarence Lamar McHan (December 16, 1932 – November 23, 1998) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally for ten seasons as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Cardinals, Green Bay Packer ...

, whose lack of leadership skills were often cited as the team's weak spot. Richards's last stop came one month later when he was hired as defensive assistant under

Ray McLean Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. However, a 1–10–1 finish in the 1958 season resulted in Richards announcing his retirement from coaching. In his post-football career, Richards served as a vice president of Pemaco, Inc., a Los Angeles-based chemical company. He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on September 18, 1974, in

Brea, California Brea (; Spanish for "tar") is a city in northern Orange County, California. The population as of the 2010 census was 39,282. It is southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city began as a center of cru ...

, at the age of 68.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Ray 1906 births 1974 deaths American football ends American football guards American football tackles Baltimore Colts coaches Chicago Bears players Chicago Cardinals coaches Detroit Lions players Frankford Yellow Jackets players Green Bay Packers coaches Los Angeles Bulldogs players Los Angeles Rams coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Pepperdine Waves football coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches People from Gage County, Nebraska People from Pawnee City, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska Deaths from lung cancer in California Chicago Cardinals head coaches pt:Ray Richards