J. De Forest Richards (November 28, 1874 – September 5, 1949) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and banker. He was the son of the fifth

Governor of Wyoming A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1894 to 1897. He later had a career as a banker in

Douglas, Wyoming Douglas is a city in and the county seat of Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 6,386 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the home of the Wyoming State Fair. History Douglas was platted in 1886 when the ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, and

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Early years

Richards was born in 1874 in

Camden, Alabama Camden is a city in and the county seat of Wilcox County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,927 at the 2020 census, down from 2,020 in 2010. History What is now Camden was established on property donated by Thomas Dunn from his p ...

, the only son of DeForest Richards. His father was a

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

native who moved to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the Reconstruction era, serving as the sheriff of

Wilcox County, Alabama Wilcox County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,600. Its county seat is Camden. History Wilcox County was established on December 13, 1819. The county was named after Joseph M. Wilcox, a ...

, and operating a tannery and mercantile business. His father moved to Nebraska when Richards was 12 years old. Richards attended public school in Nebraska for two years before being sent to the St. Paul's School in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

. After graduating from the St. Paul's School in 1892, Richards moved to

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

, where his father had established a store under the name Richards, Cunningham & Co.

University of Michigan

In 1894, Richards enrolled at the

. While at Michigan, he played

. He was a halfback for the

1894 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1894 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1894 college football season. In its first season under head coach William McCauley (American football), William McCauley ...

and a quarterback for the

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

and 1897 teams.

Business career

He finished his education at Michigan in 1898 and returned to Wyoming where he became an assistant cashier at the First National Bank of Douglas in

. In 1898, his father was elected

and served in that office until his death in April 1903. Richards was elected vice president of the First National Bank of Douglas in January 1901. He also served as the treasurer of the Richards-Coombs Co., which operated a sheep ranch south of Douglas, and treasurer of the Chambers Live Stock Co., which operated a ranch on the

Cheyenne River The Cheyenne River (; "Good River"), also written ''Chyone'', referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 295 miles (475 ...

Weston County, Wyoming Weston County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 6,838. Its county seat is Newcastle. Its east boundary line abuts the western boundary of the state of South Dakota. History Westo ...

. In 1909, Richards moved from Douglas, Wyoming, to

, where he continued to work in the banking business. In 1918, he moved to

, where he became involved in the manufacture of gas engines. In 1925, Richards joined the National Boulevard Bank in Chicago. He became president of the bank in 1931 and was "credited with increasing its resources and services." In September 1949, Richards died after a short illness in Chicago. He was survived by his wife, Gertrude Richards, and was buried at the Rosehill Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, J. De Forest 1874 births 1949 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Michigan Wolverines football players People from Camden, Alabama