William "Ginger" Richardson (29 May 1909 – 29 March 1959) often referred to as W.G. Richardson and by the nickname 'Ginger' to avoid confusion with teammate

Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was also the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary ...

, 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 ...

, who played as a centre forward. He scored both goals for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

when they won the

1931 FA Cup Final The 1931 FA Cup Final was a football match between West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham, played on 25 April 1931 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece event was the final match of the 1930–31 staging of English football's pri ...

, beating their Midlands rivals

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

2–1. He scored four goals within the space of five minutes, all within the first ten minutes of the match, for West Brom against

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 ...

at Upton Park on 7 November 1931. In the 1935–36 season, he scored 39 League goals, which is still West Bromwich Albion's club record for top scorer in the top division of the

football league system 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 ...

. Richardson was the nephew of the English cricketer Tom Richardson. In 2004, he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations. Richardson died on the field of play, during a charity match between a City of Birmingham 'All Stars XI' and a Television celebrity team, having stepped in at the last moment when the playing staff of Birmingham City were placed under quarantine due to a

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

outbreak, which would claim the life of another former cup finalist, Jeff Hall a fortnight later.

Honours

West Bromwich Albion *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

winners:

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

References

External links

William Richardson
profile at TheFA.com * 1909 births 1959 deaths Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Hartlepool United F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players England men's international footballers Men's association football forwards {{England-footy-forward-1900s-stub