!SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Carolina Panthers Owner/Founder Jerry Richardson, a 1959 graduate of Wofford College, will have his number 51 jersey retired by the school.
Richardson, who starred at receiver for the Terriers, will have his number retired during a ceremony at Wofford's home game against Elon on Oct. 29. His number will be just the second ever retired by his alma mater's football program.
A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Richardson still holds several school records that he set more than a half-century ago, but the honor has just as much to do with his accomplishments after his playing days.
On Oct. 26, 1993, Richardson became just the second former NFL player to own a team when the Carolinas were awarded the NFL's 29th franchise. The Panthers began play in 1995 and reached the NFC Championship game at the following season. At the end of the 2003 season, the Panthers won the NFC Championship and advanced to Super Bowl XXVIII.
Throughout their history, the Panthers have held training camp at Wofford.
"Retiring a jersey means, among other things, that the person who wore it was so extraordinary on the field that we never expect to see his like again," Wofford College President Dr. Benjamin Dunlap said. "In Jerry Richardson's case, we need to revise that meaning slightly because he has been as extraordinary off the field as on - and because no one at Wofford College has done more through the years to discover and support future Jerry Richardsons than Jerry himself. Like all great players, he takes his teammates with him to greater heights."
Richardson calls being elected Wofford team captain in 1958 his greatest honor, even with all he accomplished between the white lines. An Associated Press Little All-America selection in 1957 and 1958, Richardson still holds school records for most touchdown receptions in a career (21) and season (nine in 1958), and his 241 yards receiving against Newberry in 1956 still stand as a single-game record.
As a senior in 1958, he scored 72 points on nine touchdowns, 12 extra points and two field goals.
The Baltimore Colts drafted Richardson in the 13th round of the 1959 draft. He played two seasons in the NFL, earning Colt Rookie of the Year honors in 1959 and catching a touchdown pass in the 1959 NFL Championship game from Johnny Unitas before retiring to pursue a business career.
He returned to Spartanburg and co-founded Spartan Foods, which was the first franchisee of Hardee's. He later was the CEO of Flagstar, the sixth-largest food service company in the nation at the time.
Richardson is the only person to be inducted into both the North Carolina and South Carolina Business and Athletic Halls of Fame.
