| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Willis Richards[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1934-03-06)6 March 1934 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Date of death | 4 March 2010(2010-03-04) (aged 75) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Birmingham City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1951–1954 | Birmingham City | 0 | (0) |
| 1954–1963 | Walsall | 335 | (184) |
| 1963–1966 | Port Vale | 63 | (30) |
| 1966–1969 | Nuneaton Borough | 71 | (45) |
| Dudley Town | |||
| Total | 469+ | (259+) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Anthony Willis Richards (6 March 1934 – 4 March 2010) was an Englishfootballer who played as aforward.
Associated withBirmingham City as a teenager, he joinedWalsall in 1954. He became theclub's top scorer for five successive seasons, firing the "Saddlers" to two successivepromotions from theFourth Division into theSecond Division in 1959–60 and 1960–61. After 185 goals in 334 league games for the club, he was sold on toPort Vale for £9,000 in March 1963. Twice becoming theclub's top scorer, a series of injuries brought his career to a close, and he moved intoNon-League football in May 1966 withNuneaton Borough andDudley Town.
Richards was in theArmy from 1952 to his demobbing in 1954, playing football (ascaptain) for the Battery and Regimental team whilst serving inEgypt.[2]
Richards started his career withBirmingham City but did not make a league appearance for the club before joiningWalsall in 1954. Walsall finished 23rd in the 24 teamThird Division South in1954–55 under the stewardship ofFrank Buckley, and were forced to apply for re-election. They rose to 20th in1955–56 underJohn Love, and then 15th in1956–57. Richards came to prominence afterBill Moore was appointedmanager, and finished as theclub's top scorer in1957–58 with 20 goals, as a 20th-place finish meant that Walsall became founder members of theFourth Division. He scored 28 goals in1958–59, as his team posted a sixth-place finish, two places and six points behindpromotedShrewsbury Town. His 26 goals in1959–60 helped to fire Walsall to the top of the table, a clear five points ahead of second placeNotts County. He was the highest goal scorer in theThird Division in1960–61 with 36 goals, as he fired the "Saddlers" to a second-successive promotion as runners-up, six points behind championsBury. His 20 goals in1961–62 helped to secure the club's place in theSecond Division. However, they wererelegated in1962–63, as for the first time in six seasons, Richards was not the club's top goalscorer. In his nine years atFellows Park, Richards scored 185 goals in 334 league games and became the club's second-highest goal scorer.[3] In one memorable game againstBournemouth and Boscombe Athletic he scored apenalty and then saved a penalty after an injury to his goalkeeper.[4]
He joinedFreddie Steele'sPort Vale for £9,000 in March 1963.[5] Amazingly, with 13 goals in 14 games in the1962–63 season, he had become theclub's top scorer despite only playing for three months of the season.[5] Thefollowing season, with nine months to play in, a leg injury Richards suffered in September meant he was only able to re-create his previous season's record; scoring 13 goals in 34 games, once more becoming the club's top scorer.[5] He hit ahat-trick againstBristol City in a 4–1 win atVale Park on 31 August 1963.[5] However, he began to be plagued by injuries at Vale, missing the start of the1964–65 relegation season after suffering the effects of an insect bite.[5] In September 1964 he sustained acartilage injury that required surgery.[5] He scored five goals in 20 appearances in1965–66. Still, he never really recovered after his operation and was given afree transfer by managerJackie Mudie in May 1966.[5] He finished his career withnon-League clubsNuneaton Borough andDudley Town.[5]
Before he died, Richards was appointed an Honorary Life President of Walsall to mark his contribution to the club and his cult status amongst the club's fans.[3] Richards died on 4 March 2010, two days before what would have been his 76th birthday.[6] A minute's silence was held before Walsall's 2–2 draw withMillwall on 7 March as a tribute to Richards andMacclesfield Town managerKeith Alexander, who had died on 3 March.[7]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Birmingham City | 1951–52 | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Walsall | 1954–55 | Third Division South | 32 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 26 |
| 1955–56 | Third Division South | 35 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 17 | |
| 1956–57 | Third Division South | 36 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 17 | |
| 1957–58 | Third Division South | 41 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 20 | |
| 1958–59 | Fourth Division | 43 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 28 | |
| 1959–60 | Fourth Division | 46 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 26 | |
| 1960–61 | Third Division | 45 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 36 | |
| 1961–62 | Second Division | 36 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 2[a] | 1 | 42 | 20 | |
| 1962–63 | Second Division | 21 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 23 | 7 | |
| Total | 335 | 184 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 355 | 197 | ||
| Port Vale | 1962–63 | Third Division | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 |
| 1963–64 | Third Division | 30 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 13 | |
| 1964–65 | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1965–66 | Fourth Division | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 20 | 5 | |
| Total | 63 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 31 | ||
| Nuneaton Borough | 1966–67 | Southern League Premier Division | 35 | 29 | 9 | 7 | 19[b] | 18 | 63 | 54 |
| 1967–68 | Southern League Premier Division | 31 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 17[c] | 9 | 50 | 23 | |
| 1968–69 | Southern League Premier Division | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13[d] | 6 | 18 | 8 | |
| Total | 71 | 45 | 11 | 7 | 49 | 33 | 131 | 85 | ||
| Career total | 469 | 259 | 33 | 20 | 53 | 34 | 555 | 313 | ||
Walsall