Pete Richardson
Encyclopedia
Pete Richardson is a former American football
defensive back
in the National Football League
and former college head coach.
Richardson played college football
at University of Dayton
, and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills
in the sixth round of the 1968 NFL Draft
. He played for the Bills for three years until a knee injury ended his playing career.
Richardson embarked into a steadfast 30 plus year coaching career in the late 1970s, starting out in the high school football ranks in Dayton, Ohio
, before moving up to Division II (NCAA) football in 1979 as he joined the coaching staff at Winston-Salem State University
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
. In 1988 Richardson became the head coach of the Winston-Salem State University
Rams. He served from 1988 to 1992, where he compiled a win-loss record of 41-14-1, winning three Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
(CIAA) conference championships (1988, 1990, 1991) and led the Rams to two appearances in the Division II football playoffs in 1990 and 1991.
He left the Winston-Salem State Rams football program in good shape, and pursued a higher challenge
he became head football coach on the Division 1-AA level at Southern University
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
in 1993.
During his tenure the Jaguar football team won four Southwestern Athletic Conference
(SWAC) titles, including back-to-back-to-back crowns in 1997, 1998, 1999, and the 2003, as well four Black college football national championship
s (1993, 1995, 1997, 2003). His teams also made six appearances in the now defunct Heritage Bowl
, a post-season HBCU Bowl game. Richardson compiled a win-loss record of 134-62-0 in 17 seasons as Head Coach, making him the second winningest coach in the history of the Southern Jaguars
football program behind the legendary coach Arnett Mumford
. He is the only coach in the history of the Southern University
football program to have the unique distinction go undefeated against the late legendary College Football Hall Of Fame coach Eddie Robinson of Grambling State University
Tigers in the Bayou Classic
.
Richardson, towards the end of his 30 year college head coach career in the Division II and Division I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision) ranks has collected a load of accolades specially allocated to football coaches of HBCUs Historically Black Colleges and Universities
, such as the Black Coaches Association's Coach of the Year in 1998, five-time SWAC Coach of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003), Atlanta's 100% Wrong Club's Coach of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003), Washington D.C.'s Pigskin Club's Coach of the Year (1995, 1998 and 2003), the Kodak Region IV Coach of the Year (1995) and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network's Coach of the Year (1997 and 2003).
There were a huge number of former Southern Jaguar players who have come through during Richardson's tenure, who were All-SWAC
Conference players and Black College All-Americans. Only a very few of them have able to move on and establish careers in the National Football League
. They are Jerry Wilson, Ahmad Treaudo
, and Lenny Williams
.
Wilson, who was a 4th round NFL Draft
pick in 1995, has been the only player from this group who achieved veteran status, playing 10 seasons with three different teams. The other players have been practice squad free agents, who have seen little to no action. Yancey Thigpen
was the only Winston-Salem Ram player under Richardson who went on to the NFL.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and former college head coach.
Richardson played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at University of Dayton
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...
, and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the sixth round of the 1968 NFL Draft
1968 NFL Draft
The 1968 National Football League Draft was part of the Common Draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players on January 30–31.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...
. He played for the Bills for three years until a knee injury ended his playing career.
Richardson embarked into a steadfast 30 plus year coaching career in the late 1970s, starting out in the high school football ranks in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, before moving up to Division II (NCAA) football in 1979 as he joined the coaching staff at Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University , a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a historically black public research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.Winston-Salem State has been...
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
. In 1988 Richardson became the head coach of the Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University , a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a historically black public research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.Winston-Salem State has been...
Rams. He served from 1988 to 1992, where he compiled a win-loss record of 41-14-1, winning three Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is a college athletic conference, mostly consisting of historically black colleges and universities. Recent addition Chowan University is the first non-HBCU to play in the conference. Conference teams participate in the NCAA's Division II...
(CIAA) conference championships (1988, 1990, 1991) and led the Rams to two appearances in the Division II football playoffs in 1990 and 1991.
He left the Winston-Salem State Rams football program in good shape, and pursued a higher challenge
he became head football coach on the Division 1-AA level at Southern University
Southern University
Southern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
in 1993.
During his tenure the Jaguar football team won four Southwestern Athletic Conference
Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...
(SWAC) titles, including back-to-back-to-back crowns in 1997, 1998, 1999, and the 2003, as well four Black college football national championship
Black college football national championship
The black college football national championship is a mythical national championship won by the best black college football team in the United States of America. There has been some criticism of this title on the grounds that the schools in the various polls compete in different levels of...
s (1993, 1995, 1997, 2003). His teams also made six appearances in the now defunct Heritage Bowl
Heritage Bowl
The Heritage Bowl is a defunct NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision bowl game pitting a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference against a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference...
, a post-season HBCU Bowl game. Richardson compiled a win-loss record of 134-62-0 in 17 seasons as Head Coach, making him the second winningest coach in the history of the Southern Jaguars
Southern Jaguars
The Southern Jaguars represent Southern University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics.-Conference affiliation:Southern University's athletic teams participate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference which is a part of the NCAA Division I. Football participates in the Football Championship...
football program behind the legendary coach Arnett Mumford
Ace Mumford
Arnett W. "Ace" Mumford was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at historically black colleges and universities in Texas and Louisiana from 1924 to 1961, compiling a career college football record of 233–85–23...
. He is the only coach in the history of the Southern University
Southern University
Southern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...
football program to have the unique distinction go undefeated against the late legendary College Football Hall Of Fame coach Eddie Robinson of Grambling State University
Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...
Tigers in the Bayou Classic
Bayou Classic
The State Farm Bayou Classic is the annual college football game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held under that name in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, although the series itself actually began in 1936...
.
Richardson, towards the end of his 30 year college head coach career in the Division II and Division I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision) ranks has collected a load of accolades specially allocated to football coaches of HBCUs Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
, such as the Black Coaches Association's Coach of the Year in 1998, five-time SWAC Coach of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003), Atlanta's 100% Wrong Club's Coach of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003), Washington D.C.'s Pigskin Club's Coach of the Year (1995, 1998 and 2003), the Kodak Region IV Coach of the Year (1995) and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network's Coach of the Year (1997 and 2003).
There were a huge number of former Southern Jaguar players who have come through during Richardson's tenure, who were All-SWAC
SWAC
The term SWAC can mean: In Ghana, the Brahma Kumaris Youth Group uses SWAC Analysis, where SWAC means Strengths, Weaknesses, Attainments and Challenges.* School with a Circus...
Conference players and Black College All-Americans. Only a very few of them have able to move on and establish careers in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. They are Jerry Wilson, Ahmad Treaudo
Ahmad Treaudo
Ahmad Rashad Treaudo is an American football cornerback for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005...
, and Lenny Williams
Lenny Williams (Canadian football)
Lenny Williams was a Canadian football defensive back for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Southern University. Williams recently signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He signed a practice roster agreement....
.
Wilson, who was a 4th round NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
pick in 1995, has been the only player from this group who achieved veteran status, playing 10 seasons with three different teams. The other players have been practice squad free agents, who have seen little to no action. Yancey Thigpen
Yancey Thigpen
Yancey Dirk Thigpen is a former professional American football wide receiver who played for the San Diego Chargers , the Pittsburgh Steelers , and the Tennessee Oilers/Titans...
was the only Winston-Salem Ram player under Richardson who went on to the NFL.