Another New Honour For JR

Record goalscorer, director, managing director, hall of fame member and now club vice-president…..John Richards continues to chalk off the different roles of honour at Molineux.

In little over 48 whirlwind hours, Wolves Heroes’ co-owner received a surprise invite, accepted it and then made a busy, hand-shaking appearance at the game against Bournemouth last night.

“It all came out of the blue,” he said today. “Russell Jones rang me on the club’s behalf on Monday to ask if I would accept the position and I was delighted to say ‘yes’.

“It’s a great honour, very flattering and I’m looking forward to being at more games. Steve Bull goes to almost every home match and the other vice-president, Robert Plant, gets to all the ones he can but I would be especially pleased to be there if Robert is absent or if John Gough tells me the boardroom could do with another face at some point.

“It’s an honorary postion without any specific duties but the Former Players Association have done lots in the community and for charity over a number of years and this is a sort of extension to that.

“Monday was the first time I had ever been offered the role and the timing is very good because the consultancy work I was doing with my long-time employers has reduced quite a lot.

“Wolves work has been taking a bigger percentage of my time anyway and I want to be active and occupied.”

Richards was in the boardroom and directors’ box at the Bournemouth game but will be in an FPA seat at the visit of Luton on Saturday after first having dinner with 30-odd fans over from Sweden.

He is also due to visit the Worldwide Lounge before kick-off in two days’ time in the company of early 1970s Wolves reserve Gerry Farrell and possibly Bully.

Among those greeted by him last night was Luton manager Rob Edwards.”I congratulated on him on the fine work he has done and he said ‘well done’ to me for this honour,” he added.  

The 73-year-old is chairman of both the Former Players Association and hall of fame committee at Molineux and has been a prime mover in a number of charity and community projects, often around the Wolves Foundation. He was also inducted into the club’s hall of fame in 2010. 

He was Wolves’ record scorer from the late 1970s, his 194 goals leaving him way out in front until Steve Bull took over the mantel a decade and a half later.

Richards and his wife, Pam, were in Australia, where their eldest daughter lives, when the 50-year anniversary of the 1974 League Cup final win over Manchester City was celebrated around the weekends of the games against Newcastle and Fulham in early March.

Other past Wolves vice-presidents include Ron Flowers and Rachael Heyhoe Flint.