MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Horhn, Norwood, Frazier, Blount, Simmons (12th), Simmons (13th), Jordan, Butler, Dearing, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Blackmon, Barnett, Blackwell, Stone, Burton, Caughman, Witherspoon
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE PASSING OF NFL AND JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL LEGEND AND FORMER DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION CAPITOL FACILITIES DIRECTOR WILLIE RICHARDSON AND EXTENDING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.
WHEREAS, the Legislature was saddened to learn of the passing of National Football League and Jackson State University Football Legend and former Director of the Bureau of Capitol Facilities Willie Richardson of Jackson, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Richardson, 76, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He played nine seasons in the NFL, mostly for the Baltimore Colts, and appeared in Super Bowl III with the New York Jets in the historic AFL victory led by Quarterback Joe Namath. Richardson was First-Team All-Pro in 1967 and made the Pro Bowl in 1967 and 1968; and
WHEREAS, Richardson was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the seventh round of the 1963 NFL draft. He finished his professional career with 195 receptions for 2,950 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Jackson State Hall of Fame in 1978 and into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1979. "Everything he did athletically was smooth. He made everything look easy," Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Historian Rick Cleveland said; and
WHEREAS, he became Director of Enforcement in the Weight Division of the Mississippi State Tax Commission, December 1980; and
WHEREAS, Willie Richardson was Director of the Bureau of the Capitol Facilities under the Musgrove administration and was responsible for upgrading infrastructure at the Capitol Complex; and
WHEREAS, he leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Earline O. Richardson; children: Sonji (Boyce) Richardson, Willie Richardson, III, and Shawn E. (Terry) Richardson; and we pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this most public-spirited football pioneer and public servant of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the passing of NFL and Jackson State University Football Legend and former Department of Finance and Administration Capitol Facilities Director Willie Richardson and extend the sympathy of the Legislature.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Willie Richardson, forwarded to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.