The Long Beach track & field community lost an important figure on July 19, as Hall of Fame sprinter and track coach Jim Richardson passed away at the age of 83.
Richardson grew up in the South Bay as one of 10 siblings. He was a standout track star at LA Harbor College before making his way to Long Beach State.
During his time at the Beach, Richardson was a trailblazer in the sprints, collecting individual school records in the 100, 200, 400, and the long jump, and was also part of record-setting relays in the 400, 800, 1600, and the sprint and medley relays. In 1991, Richardson received his induction into the Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Richardson then went on to a terrific coaching career, which included stops at Long Beach Poly High School, Carson High School, Long Beach City College, and Long Beach State. Richardson was a longtime assistant coach under Ron Allice, including a stint at Poly from 1969-71. Allice–a Hall of Famer in his own right–said the success those Jackrabbit teams had “could not have been accomplished” without Richardson.
“He had a unique personality and he was very effective in getting the most out of a student-athlete,” Allice said of Richardson. “He had a contagious laugh, and he had a personality that could charm a snake.”
That tandem reunited again at LBCC, where Richardson spent more than a decade as Allice’s assistant coach, helping oversee an impressive run of dominance that saw the Vikings win 16 conference titles and a staggering 11 state championships in a 16-year stretch. Richardson remained the head track & field coach at LBCC following Allice’s move to USC.
Ralph Lee was one of Richardson’s teammates at Long Beach State, and remembers meeting him as the new recruit to the track program back in 1961. The pair became fast friends, often spending time at Jimmy’s parents house in Wilmington on weekends during their college days. Lee remembers Jimmy as a kind soul, but often with a stern exterior as a coach.
“He was a character,” said Lee of his best friend Jimmy. “He was kind of like a US Marine Corps Sergeant. He came in as a staunch, strict disciplinarian. ‘Didn’t your father teach you anything?’ kind of a guy, and he would get the attention of the young kids in a very fatherly and a very strict disciplinarian style. And they loved him because of his quirkiness. He may have come off as a real mean guy, but with a big heart.”
During his time as an athlete at Long Beach State, Richardson was also teammates with Dee Andrews, and they remained close in the decades since. Richardson even served as Andrews’ office manager at King Park when Andrews was the District 6 Councilman in Long Beach.
“He was a people person, and he touched so many people’s hearts,” Andrews said. “Jimmy was one of those coaches, where if they had late meets and it would get dark quick, I don’t care where you live, if the bus couldn’t drop you off there, Jimmy would see that you got home. If it was at one or two o’clock in the morning, he was gonna see that you got home safe.”
Andrews said he and Richardson connected based on their shared Southern roots, and would routinely congregate after church on Sundays.
“His family was from the South, we’re from the South, and we just all kind of blended in,” Andrews remembered. “He’s from a very large family, we’re from a large family … Every New Year’s, and every Sunday, we would all go and do that Southern Sunday, gathering over at his mother’s house, which was just fantastic, because it was all his family there. It just reminded you of an old Southern picnic. And through that, Jim and I became such close, close friends.”
Throughout his entire coaching career, Richardson remained a PE teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District, working at middle schools and high schools across the city, allowing him to impact countless lives on or off the track.
“You can go to any part of this city that was ever introduced to Jim Richardson, and they’ll smile and have a great story for you,” said Allice. “He was infectious with young people. Very, very effective. And there was only one of him.”
Services will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 31 at the Tower of Faith Church in Compton (4323 East Rosecrans Ave.)
