Leo Richardson (December 19, 1931 – July 23, 2023) was an American basketball and football coach. Richardson was the head basketball coach at Savannah State University from 1964 to 1971, and the University at Buffalo from 1973 to 1978. He compiled an overall basketball coaching record of 146–176. Richardson led the Savannah State basketball team to a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference conference tournament title in 1970, for which he was named coach of the year. He was the University at Buffalo's first African American head basketball coach. He also served as the head football coach at Savannah State from 1964 to 1968, compiling a record of 13–25–2. Richardson was elected to the Savannah State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Richardson was born in Gresham, South Carolina and attended elementary and high school in Loris, South Carolina. He played football and basketball at Morris College in Sumter, South Carolina before graduating in 1954. Richardson then coached football and basketball at A. L. Corbett High School in Wagener, South Carolina. Richardson earned a master's degree from the Tuskegee Institute—now known as Tuskegee University—in 1961. Richardson died in South Carolina on July 23, 2023, at the age of 91.

Leo Richardson

Head coaching record

Football

Basketball

References

External links

Savannah State profile

1931 births

2023 deaths

American football guards

Buffalo Bulls men's basketball coaches

Morris Hornets athletic directors

Morris Hornets football coaches

Morris Hornets football players

Morris Hornets men's basketball coaches

Morris Hornets men's basketball players

Savannah State Tigers basketball coaches

Savannah State Tigers football coaches

High school basketball coaches in South Carolina

High school football coaches in South Carolina

Tuskegee University alumni

People from Loris, South Carolina

People from Marion County, South Carolina

Coaches of American football from South Carolina

Players of American football from South Carolina

Basketball coaches from South Carolina

Basketball players from South Carolina

African-American coaches of American football

African-American players of American football

African-American basketball coaches

African-American basketball players

20th-century African-American sportspeople

Leo Richardson