CHARLIE RICHARD
1941-1994
Inducted – 2006

Charles Allen Richard built Baker University into one of the best small-college football programs in the country during his 14 seasons at the college in Baldwin City. An extraordinary leader, Richard used his knowledge and fatherly style to guide Baker to a record of 123 wins, 28 losses and one tie from 1980-90, 1992-94. Although his coaching career was tragically cut short, Richard’s legacy remains. He led Baker to 11 Heart of America Athletic Conference championships, 10 NAIA playoff appearances and a victory in the 1985 Sunflower Bowl. Richard’s team won nine games nine times and, at the end of the 1994 season, had been ranked in the NAIA Top 25 for 128 consecutive weeks. He produced 32 All-Americans, 25 Academic All-Americans and was named the conference coach of the year six times. Richard was raised on a Missouri dairy farm where his tireless work ethic was developed. In high school, he was his class valedictorian. At William Jewell College, he was the team's quarterback, leading the Cardinals to a 9-1 record as a senior. After head coaching stints on the high school and community college levels, he became a collegiate assistant. In 1980, he moved to Baker University where he stayed until a heart attack took his life in 1994 during a meeting with his coaching staff. Richard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. Born: May 30, 1941 – Kansas City, MO; Died: December 13, 1994 – Baldwin, KS. Graduated: Grain Valley (Mo.) High School, 1959; William Jewell College, 1963; MS – Central Missouri State University,