| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frank Richardson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1897-01-29)29 January 1897[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Barking, England | ||
| Date of death | 19 May 1987(1987-05-19) (aged 90)[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1920–1921 | Barking Town | ||
| 1921–1922 | Plymouth Argyle | 63 | (37) |
| 1922–1923 | Stoke | 14 | (3) |
| 1923–1924 | West Ham United | 10 | (2) |
| 1924–1926 | Swindon Town | 53 | (33) |
| 1926–1929 | Reading | 91 | (44) |
| 1930–1931 | Swindon Town | 38 | (11) |
| 1931 | Mansfield Town | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 269 | (130) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Frank Richardson (29 January 1897 – 19 May 1987 ) was an Englishfootballer who played inthe Football League forReading,Plymouth Argyle,Swindon Town,West Ham United andStoke.[1]
Richardson was born inBarking and played for the local clubBarking Town before joiningPlymouth Argyle in 1921. In his first season as a professional he scored 31 goals in 41 matches as Plymouth finished in 2nd place in theThird Division South which included a hat-trick on his debut. He signed forFirst DivisionStoke in March 1923 but only scored once as Stoke were relegated at the end of the1922–23 season.[1] He scored just twice in1923–24 and was sold toWest Ham United where he gain struggled in the top flight and he decided to return to the Third Division South joiningSwindon Town.[1]
He soon rekindled his goalscoring ability scoring 15 in 35 appearances in1924–25 and then an impressive 18 in 19 in1925–26 which also included 10 in 4FA Cup matches.
Midway through the season he joinedReading scoring 12 goals in the last 13 matches which saw the "Biscuitmen" win the Third Division South title. In1926–27 he again had a good season in the cup scoring nine goals in ten, including the only goal in front of Reading's record crowd of 33,042 against Brentford. Reading reached the semi-final that year, losing out toCardiff City. He leftElm Park in the summer of 1930 having scored 55 goals in 103 matches.
Frank then spent1930–31 at Swindon scoring 11 goals in 39 matches and had a short spell atMansfield Town before deciding to retire.
When Reading secured promotion in 1976, 50 years after Frank achieved the same feat in 1926, he was invited to celebrate with the team. A decade later, Reading won Division Three once more, and Frank was invited back as the sole surviving member of that team.[3]
Source:[4]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Plymouth Argyle | 1921–22 | Third Division South | 41 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 31 |
| 1922–23 | Third Division South | 22 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 10 | |
| Total | 63 | 37 | 4 | 4 | 67 | 41 | ||
| Stoke | 1922–23 | First Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 1923–24 | Second Division | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
| Total | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | ||
| West Ham United | 1923–24 | First Division | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| Swindon Town | 1924–25 | Third Division South | 34 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 15 |
| 1925–26 | Third Division South | 19 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 28 | |
| Total | 53 | 33 | 5 | 10 | 58 | 43 | ||
| Reading | 1925–26 | Third Division South | 13 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 12 |
| 1926–27 | Second Division | 36 | 18 | 10 | 9 | 46 | 27 | |
| 1927–28 | Second Division | 31 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 13 | |
| 1928–29 | Second Division | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | |
| 1929–30 | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 91 | 44 | 12 | 11 | 103 | 55 | ||
| Swindon Town | 1930–31 | Third Division South | 38 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 11 |
| Career Total | 269 | 130 | 23 | 25 | 292 | 155 | ||
Reading