John ‘Golden’ Richards died of congenital heart failure in his Murray, Utah, home early Friday morning, his brother Doug confirmed.
He was 73.
“He has left us and gone to a better place,” said his brother, Doug Richards, a former BYU basketball standout. “He fought pretty good there to the end, until it was his time.”
Doug Richards stated that his brother fell and shattered his hip on Christmas Day in 2022, and that he has since undergone four hip operations, all of which have contributed to his failing health.
Doug also stated that his mental capacities were fast declining.
“Seven or eight years of wear and tear on the football field for a 175-pound wide receiver who was concussed several times, too,” Doug told me. “That obviously took its toll.”
Golden Richards graduated from Granite High School in Salt Lake City, where he earned all-state accolades in football, basketball, and track before committing to BYU football.
He picked the number 22 in honor of his boyhood hero, former Cowboys receiver Bob Hayes, and went on to play for the Cowboys from 1973 to 1978.
Richards grabbed a 29-yard touchdown pass in the 1978 Super Bowl, helping the Cowboys defeat the Denver Broncos 27-10.
As a sophomore at BYU, he was known as the team’s fastest player, catching 36 passes for 513 yards and one touchdown.
As a junior, he led BYU in receiving and had 33 punt returns totaling 624 yards (17.9 average). He led the nation in punt return yards and finished 16th in all-purpose yards, earning All-WAC accolades.
Richards transferred to Hawaii for his senior year, where he caught 23 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns before sustaining a knee injury that would sideline him throughout his professional career.
His greatest year with the Cowboys came in 1974, when he caught 26 passes for 467 yards and five touchdowns.
He concluded his professional career with the Chicago Bears in 1978-1979 and the Denver Broncos in 1980.
Richards, known for his long, blond hair and movie star features, dabbled in television after retirement, appearing on the “ESPN Outdoors” show.
Shortly after retiring, Richards began a long and terrible road of alcoholism and drug addiction that resulted in a slew of legal issues, but he never ran away from his problems and eventually stayed sober for the last decade of his life, his brother claimed.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011.
“It was well-documented that he had difficulties with opioids and pain pills they gave him playing football,” Doug Richards said.
“In the NFL, they handed them out like aspirin.”
Divorced three times, Golden Richards is survived by two adult sons, Goldie Jr. and Jordan, and a 2-year-old grandson, Jett.
“We were very close, so I am very sad,” Doug said. “He battled (prescription drug addiction) and finally got off those years ago, but it was a tough deal. Through it all he was a devoted father and a wonderful, great brother.
“He had a great heart, a tender heart, and was just a really great guy, and obviously a great football player.”