Geoffrey Richmond

Geoffrey Richmond (born March 1941[1]) was a football chairman of Bradford City from 1994 to 2002, and previously chairman of Scarborough.

Career

Richmond was born and raised in Leeds, where he attended Roundhay Grammar School. After leaving school, he worked as a salesman, selling children's encyclopedias door-to-door, car bulbs and car bumper and window stickers, before initially retiring before the age of 40. He bought Ronson Lighters from the receivers for £250,000 before selling it in 1994 for £10m.[2]

Richmond became chairman of Bradford City on 27 January 1994 when he and David Simpson switched positions, with Simpson moving to Scarborough. He immediately loaned Bradford £2.3m to clear the club debts.[3]

He was at Bradford during their most successful times, including their first appearance at Wembley Stadium in the 1996 Second Division play-off final and their promotion to the Premier League in the 1998–99 season. He left after the club was relegated in 2001 and went into administration in 2002, having lost the confidence of the fans.[4] The failure of the club was put down to heavy spending in the club's second season in the Premier League and the collapse of ITV Digital with the resulting loss of television rights. Richmond said: "I will never, ever, forgive myself for spending the money we did. Looking back now, it was six weeks of madness and I hold my hands up."[5] He later added: "I went into my office on the following Monday and cleared my desk. As I drove away, I was in tears. It had been my life, and I have never been back since.[3]

Richmond was later linked with Notts County[6] and Leeds United[7] before being declared bankrupt in 2004.[8] He owed £3.3m to the Inland Revenue, for the sale of Ronson 10 years previously; the sum included £1m in interest.[9]

Richmond was also an advocate of the Phoenix League, a proposed second tier of the Premier League.[10]

Personal life

He was married to Elizabeth.[2] They have one son Michael. Geoffrey also has an older son, David and two daughters, Dawn and Deborah from his first marriage to Barbara.[11][12] In July 2000, he was made a Doctor of Letters from the University of Bradford.[13] Richmond was also chairman of New Rover Cricket Club, in Adel, Leeds.[12]

References
  1. "MR GEOFFREY RICHMOND director information. Free director information. Director id 900628265".
  2. "Doctor of Letters Geoffrey Richmond". Bradford University. Archived from the original (doc) on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  3. Markham 2007, pp. 165
  4. "Bradford to play on". BBC Sport. 2002-08-06. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  5. "Richmond fears for other clubs". BBC Sport. 2002-05-17. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  6. "Trio explain Notts move". BBC Sport. 2003-06-18. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  7. "Richmond quits Leeds". BBC Sport. 2004-04-21. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  8. "Geoffrey Richmond made bankrupt". BBC Sport. 2004-04-26. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  9. Conn, David (2004-05-01). "Richmond fall a lesson for League". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  10. "Richmond fans Phoenix plan". BBC Sport. 2001-12-13. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  11. Dudgeon, Olwen (2004-04-27). "Geoffrey Richmond declared bankrupt £3.3m debts of ex-Leeds consultant". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  12. "Richmond bales out Yorkshire Academy". Telegraph & Argus. 1999-03-20. Archived from the original on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  13. "Honorary graduates". Bradford University. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
Bibliography
  • Markham, David (2007), The legends of Bradford City, Breedon Books Sport, ISBN 978-1-85983-572-2
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