This summer Gary O’Neil’s Wolves side will head across the pond and touch down in the United States for the first time since 1981, when a certain John Richards – now club vice-president – was a goal scorer for the Old Gold in a pioneering friendly against Jacksonville Tea Men.
Although that trip 43 years ago requires a delve into the archives, it proved a successful one on a number of fronts. For the club, the sponsorship provided vital funds during financial difficulties. For the players, many of whom were visiting the States for the first time, it presented a hugely enriching and eye-opening experience.
This summer, Wolves head back to Jacksonville, Florida, to take on West Ham United, before moving north to Annapolis, Maryland, where they’ll meet Crystal Palace, both in the Stateside Cup. Unlike in 1981, the matches will provide preparation for the new season and Richards expects the East Coast trip to be just as exciting for his modern-day counterparts, if marginally more disciplined.
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Richards (right) with fellow vice-president Robert Plant (left) - rock legend and lead singer of Led Zeppelin.
Their 1981 end of season trip was affectionately described as a “jolly up” by the club’s second greatest ever goal scorer, who bagged 194 times for Wolves. At the end of a long season, John Barnwell’s group headed to America to take on the Tea Men – a friendly in which Richards scored but the Old Gold lost 4-1 – but also experience the bright lights of America, and it was an opportunity he fully embraced.
Richards said: “The most memorable part of the tour for me was our trip to Disney World. A group of the lads – Kenny Hibbitt and Andy Gray were involved – hired cars and went over the Disney World on a day off and it was a magical place. It was something like we’d never, ever seen before.
“It was a totally different world. America’s such a contrast – it’s part of the western world, but it’s so large, the food presentation, the road lay out, the number of lanes they have, the whole thing was an eye opener for the players and particularly me. Going into a place like Disney World, I couldn’t imagine a place like it, it was so well done and so well organised.
“It convinced me, when I came home, to take my family there, and we went the following year – me and my wife took our two daughters, who would have been around six and eight. The trip was more to do with the club being in financial difficulties, so to get an end of season trip they’d have needed a sponsor, and it came from Florida and Jacksonville Tea Men, and it was a great experience.”
Richards (right) celebrates with Kenny Hibbitt (left) and Andy Gray (centre) after Wolves won the League Cup in 1980, one year before the Jacksonville trip.
End of season trips were commonplace in the 1970s and 1980s, with Wolves usually veering towards Scandinavia, and particularly Norway during Richards’ era, however during his 14 years at the club, the Jacksonville trips didn’t prove to be his solitary experience of the US.
Wolves had been to America twice before. In 1963 they embarked on a 10-game tour of the US and Canada across the May and June, with New York, Philadelphia, St Louis and San Francisco all stop offs. Nine years later Richards started all four matches of another trip to the US and Canada, with San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles, as well as Vancouver, all destinations.
“I know the lads were there in the ‘60s, but there was few of them still around. We’d been in the ‘70s and we were on the West Coast rather than Florida. A lot of the lads had never been to America before, so it was a good experience. It was a tough season, and it was an opportunity to relax in a bit of sunshine and put our feet up, and we obviously did if we got beat 4-1 by Jacksonville Tea Men. I haven’t seen the goal anywhere on my list, so I don’t think anyone has made much of an effort to record it, but it’s nice to know I was still scoring in those days.
“It felt a special trip because it came totally out of the blue. You normally had end of season trips nearer home, and it was a total surprise for everyone and a great opportunity. It was just unfortunate one of our colleagues had to miss it because his passport hadn’t come through – Geoff Palmer. It was disappointing for Geoff, he had to sit at home and his passport arrived on the day we flew out, so it was too late.”
Some John Richards goals on his birthday! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/VFDAxyh5dB
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 9, 2023
The sport has steadily built in the United States from the era of Richards’ visit. Still in its infancy at the time, the introduction of world-renowned stars such as George Best and Johan Cruyff helped accelerate its progression. Following the trip, Richards saw his colleague Colin Brazier return to Jacksonville to sign for the Tea Men, such was the positive impact the country had on the former defender.
For Richards, he’s proud of the small contribution Wolves made to the sport’s progression. The friendly was the first ever international football match in Jacksonville, held at the Jacksonville Gator Bowl, which provided a form of legacy.
“They were trying to get football into America in many ways, so they were trialling things out. Some worked, some didn’t. The big sports there were basketball and American football, so soccer, as they called it, never got a look in.
“When you look back, the Wolves team that went in the ‘60s, they were special in what they did and the same with Florida. Florida is such a way away from all the main conurbations and it was a case of trying it there. It was testing the water and I know Colin was there for a while, and while it didn’t last long, that happened in a lot of places in America. You have to trial and error, and when you look at it now, it’s worked.
“In 1981 I vaguely remember a BBQ for us. The host was American, but he had contacts in Wolverhampton. He was a direct contact between Jacksonville, who either worked at Wolves previously or had a contact, which is why we were approached.”
Richards (left) with current Wolves defender Nelson Semedo (right).
Now Wolves are preparing for a long-awaited return to the US, where the club has 32 active official supporter clubs. Richards, who became vice-president in April, is hugely proud to now hold the role and believes the pre-season trip is another opportunity to reach out to US-based supporters and develop further as a club.
“I think it’s fantastic. You’ve got to keep spreading your wings, as a football club, and it staggers me how many supporters we’ve got. Wherever you go, when you say you’re from Wolverhampton, straight away people say Wolves. You got to America, and I think we’ve got more supporter clubs than in the UK.
“It just shows the power of football and I think it’s wonderful – it puts the football club and the city on the map, which is what we’re trying to do. I think it’s great the team are going to Jacksonville, and it’ll be an eye-opener, as it was for me.
“Pre-season is when you get that team spirit together. You can spend time with your new and old teammates, and the management team. You can build up that friendship and relationships which you need in a team. You’re not going to be best pals because you’re from different generations often, but at the same time, out on the pitch you’re part of the same team and it’s so crucial.
“We always had a summer trip and it made a massive difference and helped us at the start of the season. We were all thinking on the same lines and got our heads around how we were going to play. It makes a difference – bonding is very important for any group of people, and hopefully it will be a really useful tour.”
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