Jerry Richardson, the founder of the Carolina Panthers, passed away on Wednesday night at his Charlotte, North Carolina, home. He was 86.
Richardson was credited with bringing the NFL to Carolina in 1995, but his employment with the team was terminated during the 2017 campaign amid claims of racial and sexual harassment at the workplace.
Who Was Jerry Richardson?
Jerome Johnson Richardson Sr. was an American who worked in a number of different industries, including business, football, and NFL ownership. He established the Carolina Panthers organization, which he owned and oversaw from 1995 to 2018.
Richardson was born in Spring Hope and went to high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Later, when a student at Spartanburg, South Carolina’s Wofford College, he was successful as a football player.
He was recognized as an Associated Press Little All-America selection in 1957 and 1958 as well. Richardson still holds the record for Wofford’s most receiving yards in a single game with 241 against Newberry in 1956.
Moreover, he still holds the record for the most touchdown receptions in a season in a career (9 in 1958). Richardson scored nine touchdowns, added 12 extra points, and made two field goals during his senior year at Wofford, totaling 72 points.
In 1983, Richardson was chosen as a receiver for Wofford’s All-Time Football team. He considers becoming team captain in 1958 to be his best accomplishment.
Richardson excelled in sports as well as being involved in a number of Wofford campus activities. He was a member of the SCA Cabinet, the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, and the Inter-Fraternity Council as well.
When a student at Wofford, Richardson was honored as a Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges member and given the title of Distinguished Military Student. Also, he belonged to the military fraternities Scabbard and Blade and Sigma Delta Psi.