Golden Richards, a former BYU and Dallas Cowboys receiver, dies at age 7
Murray, Utah (AP) – Golden Richards, the former Dallas Cowboys receiver famed for his flowing blond hair who famously scored a touchdown pass off a gadget play in the 1978 Super Bowl, died of congestive heart failure at his Murray home on Friday. He was 73.
Richards’ nephew, Lance Richards, announced the death on Facebook.
“My uncle Golden passed away peacefully this morning,” Lance Richards stated. “I’ll always remember going hunting and talking about Dallas Cowboys football. He was a nice and sweet soul, and I’m so glad he’s no longer suffering.”
The former BYU great played seven seasons in the NFL with Dallas, Chicago, and Denver, but he is most recognized for his five-plus seasons as a deep-play threat with the Cowboys. He twice averaged more than 21 yards per catch, concluding his stint in Dallas with an 18.3 lifetime average.
This was notably noticeable during the 1978 Super Bowl against Denver. With the Cowboys leading 20-10 in the fourth quarter, fullback Robert Newhouse delivered a 29-yard touchdown pass to Richards, who got behind the defense to almost guarantee the Cowboys’ second title.
Richards finished his career with 122 receptions for 2,136 yards and 17 TDs before injuries prompted him to retire in 1980.
A Salt Lake City native, he starred at Granite High School, then at nearby BYU, where he was a receiver and punt returner, leading the nation as a junior with four returns for TDs.
Richards finished his undergraduate career at Hawaii, catching 23 catches for 414 yards and five touchdowns. That piqued the interest of the Cowboys, who selected him in the second round in 1973.
According to the Deseret News, Richards struggled with health issues and drug addiction after retirement, but he remained sober for the final ten years.
“Seven or eight years of wear and tear on the football field for a 175-pound wide receiver who has also been concussed several times,” brother Doug Richards, a former BYU basketball star, told the newspaper. “That obviously took its toll.”
Richards was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011 and lived with adult sons Goldie Jr. and Jordan in his later years. Doug Richards said his brother broke his hip on Christmas in 2022 and had four hip surgeries.
“He has left us and gone to a better place,” Doug Richards said. “He fought pretty good there to the end, until it was his time.”
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