Former NFL receiver and Greenville native Gloster Richardson died February 27 in Chicago at the age of 77. The two-time Super Bowl Champion will be best remembered for taking the play to the huddle from Kansas City Chiefs head coach Hank Schramm that helped the Chiefs seal the victory in Super Bowl IV.
In the iconic NFL Films footage Schramm is recorded as saying, “65 Toss Power Trap…that might pop right open!” And it did, as quarterback Len Dawson then handed the ball to Mike Garrett, who ran it in for the score to put Kansas City up 16-0. This was Richardson’s first Super Bowl ring. His second came as a member of the Dallas Cowboys four years later in 1971.
Richardson, a Jackson State College graduate, grew up in a family that featured three other siblings who played professionally. His brothers, Willie, Tom and Ernie played at nearby Jackson State College and went on to careers in the AFL and NFL.
Richardson’s childhood friend, Greenville resident A.C. Thomas, remembers his friend fondly.
“He was always a nice guy and a good athlete,” Thomas recalled. “We’ve been friend since about the fifth grade. He graduated from Coleman High in 1961 and I graduated in 1962.”
The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Richardson in the seventh round of the 1965 draft. Thomas attended Mississippi Valley State University and would be taken in the draft the following year by the Atlanta Falcons.
“It made me proud to not only be drafted but also have a friend and his family members who were also doing well in the game of football,” Thomas said. “Gloster was a good all-around athlete. We played football, baseball and basketball together. The only thing that I did that he didn’t do was run track.”
Richardson played from 1967 to 1974 for the Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns. In eight seasons, Richardson posted 1,976 yards and 18 touchdowns across 92 career games (38 starts. “Gloster moved to Greenville from Clarksdale when we were in elementary school,” Thomas said. “I always enjoyed hanging with him and his family from over on 9th Street. Gloster and all of his brothers were the types of athletes that you just don’t see any more. They knew how to play well on the field and how to conduct themselves off the field.”
This story was first reported in the Kansas City Star.
This story was first reported in the Kansas City Star.
