Richards’ touchdown in Super Bowl XII gave the Cowboys the victory.
The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver John “Golden” Richards, who was a member of the team that won Super Bowl XII, passed away on Friday at his Utah home from congestive heart failure. His age was 73 years.
Richards was a standout athlete in high school, earning all-state recognition in track and field, basketball and football. He was the team’s top receiver and a dangerous return specialist on kickoffs and punt returns while he was a student at BYU.
Following his last year at the University of Hawai’i, Richards was chosen by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1973 NFL Draft. Despite being mostly a special teams player in his rookie season, he had an effect by returning a punt for a 63-yard touchdown in the NFC Championship game.
Richards emerged as the primary deep threat for the Cowboys in his second NFL season, starting every game. In the 1974 season, he had 26 receptions, four of which were for more than 43 yards.
Against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII in 1978, Richards experienced his most memorable game as a professional.
With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, quarterback Roger Staubach threw a pass to running back Robert Newhouse, giving the Cowboys a 20-10 lead. Newhouse ran a few yards, then spun and found Richards in the downfield for a 29-yard touchdown to seal the victory.
For their second Super Bowl victory, the Cowboys would maintain their lead.
The next season, Richards lost his starting position and was traded to the Chicago Bears. In 1978, he would record the most receptions (27) of his career; however, during the next two years, injuries would plague him, eventually forcing him to retire in 1980. At the end of his NFL career, he had 17 touchdowns and 2,136 yards from 122 receptions.
During his retirement, Doug Richards revealed to The Deseret News, his brother battled drug and alcohol addiction and was identified as having Parkinson’s disease in 2011. Ten years later, he shattered his hip, necessitating four operations and exacerbating his pre-existing medical conditions.
“After seven or eight years of use, the
