Legend is the word for Richards

Usually it'd be a bit difficult to comment on the passing of a footballer who you've never seen play,

.

There are exceptions however and in the case of Tony Richards, given all the stories and tales I've been told about his achievements in a Walsall shirt, it feels like I've seen him play loads of times even though his Saddlers career ended a good decade before I ever stepped foot in Fellows Park.

At that particular time, 1975/76 to be precise, Alan Buckley was very much in his prime and beginning to make inroads into Richards' position as our all time leading goalscorer. By the end of both their Saddlers careers Buckley had just edged Richard from the top of the all time leading Saddlers goalscoring charts but with a combined total of 400 strikes in a Walsall shirt it is fairly clear however that both were supreme marksmen.

I have no idea exactly how many of Richards goals were headed in, or how many of them were converting a cross from Colin Taylor but from the tales I was told and have since read Richards had and has no peer when it came to heading ability. And whilst nostalgia may well play some part, as it does with me when comparing modern day Saddlers players with my early heroes, the sheer weight of similar opinion not to mention the small matter of statistics appear to bear this out.

A veteran of that iconic period around the change in decades from 50's to 60's Richards was an integral part of the frontline that spearheaded those to back to back promotions that our longer term fans still enjoy recounting with huge pride. Over those two wonderful seasons Richards and Cannonball Colin Taylor shared a massive total of 114 goals between them. Both are rightly held in the highest esteem by those who were lucky enough to see them play. For both to be born within 12 miles of Fellows Park is utterly unthinkable in the modern era

Richards' Saddlers career ended in March 1963 and it is testimony to his achievements in a Walsall shirt that all those years later he was elected by the Club's supporters as our outstanding player of the 20th Century. And whilst I'd be the first to accept that we've yet to produce a Platini, Cryuff or Gullit the achievement of polling ahead of the likes of Buckley, Taylor, Gilbert Alsop, Colin Harrison and Allan Clarke should not be sniffed at. The electorate had got it right.

In a Premiership world almost re-written by Sky Sports and Talk Rubbish the title of legend has been bandied here there and everywhere up to the point that in most discussions the term has become almost worthless. In Tony Richards case however there can be little doubt about the validity of the title. He is without question a Saddlers legend.

195 goals in 354 appearances, two promotions and one Championship winning medal elevate Richards onto the very highest tier of former Saddlers stars. Whoever was playing in attack last weekend in the Saddlers team upstairs had better hope for a place on the bench this weekend. There is a new first name on the team sheet.