| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1950-11-09)9 November 1950 (age 75) | ||
| Place of birth | Warrington,Lancashire, England | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1969–1983 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 385 | (144) |
| 1982–1983 | →Derby County (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 1983–1985 | Marítimo | 44 | (23) |
| Total | 439 | (169) | |
| International career | |||
| 1972–1974 | England Under-23 | 6 | (1) |
| 1973 | England | 1 | (0) |
| 1977 | England Under-21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1978 | England B | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John Peter Richards (born 9 November 1950) is an English retired professionalinternationalfootballer, who played as astriker.[1]
He spent almost all his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, where he broke the club's goalscoring record, ending with 194 goals in his tally (later overtaken bySteve Bull).
During a fourteen-year association with Wolves he won twoLeague Cups and also played inthe first UEFA Cup Final in 1972. He was capped once by theEngland national team in 1973.
Richards signed for theMolineux club as a professional in July 1969 and made his debut on 28 February 1970 in a 3–3 draw atWest Bromwich Albion. He scored his first league goal for Wolves the following season againstHuddersfield Town on 19 September 1970.
In1971–72, "King John" came of age, scoring 13 league goals and helping Wolves become runners-up in theUEFA Cup. The following season, he was even stronger, scoring 36 goals in total (his highest seasonal tally) and, in 1974, he scored the winning goal as the team beatManchester City to win theLeague Cup. Richards was leading scorer for Wolves in six of the next seven seasons, culminating in winning a second League Cup medal in 1980 againstNottingham Forest.
During his time with the club, Richards became Wolves' all-time leading scorer with 194 goals in total, a record that was subsequently bettered bySteve Bull in 1992. However, he still holds the club record for the mostFA Cup goals, with 24.
Richards eventually left the club and moved to Portugal in 1983, following a loan spell withDerby County. He played two seasons forC.S. Marítimo, helping the side to promotion.
Richards' goal-scoring prowess was rewarded with a singleEnglandcap, againstNorthern Ireland on 12 May 1973 atGoodison Park. The competition for international places was fierce and the acknowledged talent England possessed in the form ofKevin Keegan,Martin Chivers andAllan Clarke ensured Richards became a "one-cap wonder".[2]
After retiring as a player, Richards went into local government in Wolverhampton and Cannock; later returning to Wolves as a director in 1994, then as managing director in 1997, a post he held until 2000. In 2009, he worked as operations director of Pitchcare, a Telford-based online service for groundsmen.[3]