Jimmy Richardson

James (Jimmy) Richardson was born in Ashington on 8th February 1911. After leaving school he became a motor engineer. He played football for Blyth Spartans before signing for Newcastle United for £200 in April 1928.

An inside-right, Richardson made his debut against Blackburn Rovers on 4th September 1929. That season he played in 9 games. The following season he scored 4 goals in 12 appearances.

Newcastle finished in 11th place in the 1931-32 season. However, they had a good FA Cup run and they beat Blackpool (1-0), Southport (9-0), Leicester City (3-1), Watford (5-0) and Chelsea (2-1) to reach the final against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.

Arsenal scored first, eleven minutes after the start, when Bob John headed in a centre by Joe Hulme. Just before half-time Richardson chased what appeared to be a lost cause, when David Davidson sent a long ball up the right wing. When the ball appeared to bounce over the line, the Arsenal defence instinctively relaxed. Richardson managed to hook the ball into the middle and Jack Allen was able to head home. Despite the protests, the referee W. P. Harper, awarded the goal. David Jack missed an easy chance midway through the second-half and soon afterwards Allen scored again to win the game for Newcastle United 2-1.

Richardson won his first international cap for England against Italy on 13th May 1933. Also in the team that day was Cliff Bastin, Wilf Copping, Albert Geldard, Eddie Hapgood, Henry Hibbs and George Hunt. The game was drawn 1-1. Richardson also scored 2 goals in the 4-0 victory over Switzerland later that month.

Newcastle United finished in 21st place in the 1933-34 season and the club was relegated into the Second Division. In October 1934, Richardson was sold to Huddersfield Town, where he scored 32 goals in 125 games. He also played for Millwall in the 1938-39 season.

After the Second World War Richardson was appointed trainer at Leyton Orient (1948-1955) and assistant trainer at Millwall (1956-57)

Jimmy Richardson died in Bexley on 28th August 1964.