Alpette C. Richardson (born September 23, 1957) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) who spent six seasons with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. He played

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for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

. In his rookie season of 1980, Richardson set the record for most interceptions recorded by a linebacker (7), which he returned for 139 yards, while also recovering three fumbles. He won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1980 along with his teammate

Buddy Curry George Jessel "Buddy" Curry (born June 4, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons from 1980 to 1987. He played college football for the North Carolina ...

, becoming the first (and so far only) time that two rookies shared the award in NFL history. Richardson made the NFL's All-Pro 2nd team. Richardson would have less to do in his next couple of seasons. He recorded an interception in 1981 and 1983 before retiring at the age of 28 in 1985. He finished his career with 9 interceptions, six fumble recoveries, and 9 sacks.

References

1957 births Living people People from Abbeville, Alabama American football linebackers Miami Central Senior High School alumni Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Atlanta Falcons players NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners 20th-century American sportsmen {{linebacker-1950s-stub