Chiefs receiver who ran in Hank Stram’s famous Super Bowl IV play-call has died at 77
A month after winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history, the Chiefs are mourning the loss of a man who helped lead them to their first.
Gloster Richardson, a wide receiver on the Kansas City team that won Super Bowl IV, died Thursday. He was 77. A celebration of life for Richardson will be held Saturday in Chicago.
Richardson took part in setting in motion one of the most iconic plays in Chiefs history — 65 Toss Power Trap. It was Richardson who coach Hank Stram grabbed and sent into the huddle with the instructions for the play.
“Gloster, tell (Dawson), 65 Toss Power Trap. It might pop wide open,” Stram said then.
The Chiefs picked Richardson in the seventh round of the 1965 AFL Draft out of Jackson State College, near his hometown of Greenville, Miss. He made his debut two years later. He enjoyed a career year in 1968, catching 22 passes for 494 yards and six touchdowns.
In 1969, the Chiefs’ championship season, Richardson had 23 catches for 381 yards and two scores. He caught a 19-yard touchdown pass in a 13-6 first-round playoff win against the Jets.
He later played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns and added a second Super Bowl ring with the Cowboys in the 1971 season.
In all, Richardson played in 92 professional games, catching 92 passes for 1,976 yards and 18 touchdowns.
He coached wide receivers at Mississippi Valley State from 1983-84, including NFL legend Jerry Rice.
Richardson’s older brother, Willie, was a two-time Pro-Bowl selection with the Baltimore Colts, and preceded him in death four years ago.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 4:57 PM.