Tom Richards, point guard on Pitt's 1974 NCAA Elite Eight team, dies

Thomas E. Richards, who directed traffic as the point guard on one of greatest basketball teams in Pitt history and later became chairperson of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees, died Thursday at his home in Naples, Fla. He was 66.

Richards, a star guard at Moon High School in the 1970s, was a four-year starter at Pitt, helping lead the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight during the 1973-74 season.

Pitt won a school-record 22 games in a row that year before finishing 25-4. The Panthers were ranked in the final Associated Press poll (16th) for the first time in school history and were one game from the Final Four before losing to N.C. State, 100-72, in the Regional Final.

Each member of the starting five was from Western Pennsylvania, including Richards, All-American Billy Knight (Braddock), Mickey Martin (Baldwin), Kirk Bruce (South Hills) and Jim Bolla (Canevin). Sixth man Keith Starr was from Quaker Valley.

“That group formed a special bond because we were all from that same area,” Knight said. “We didn’t know each other that well growing up. But we all came together at Pitt and maintained a close relationship all those years.”

Knight said he remembers Richards as “just a good guy, easy-going.”

“Some guys are practical jokers on the team. Tommy wasn’t that kind of a guy,” he said. “He was just a good guy and a good teammate, on and off the court.”

During his collegiate career, Richards compiled 873 points (11th in school history at the time) and 307 assists. Pitt never lost a game at Fitzgerald Field House (26-0) during Richards’ sophomore and junior seasons.

At Moon, Richards was a prolific scorer, recording 1,574 points while averaging 32.3 points per game as a senior. He scored 63 points in a game against Beaver on Feb. 18, 1972.

“He really had to sacrifice quite a bit on that Pitt team because he came to the school as a big scorer,” Knight said. “He sacrificed to play the point and distribute the ball. He still shot the ball, but when you play point guard you have to try to keep everybody else happy.”

Richards graduated from Pitt in 1976 with a degree in economics and was a Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received his Master of Science degree in management.

“One of my all-time favorites. True student-athlete,” said author and Pitt historian Sam Sciullo Jr.

Richards was elected to Pitt’s Board of Trustees in 2011, and was sworn in as chairperson in 2020. He is the retired CEO and executive chairman of the board of directors for CDW, a technology company based in Lincolnshire, Ill.

“He became a CEO of companies and ran businesses,” Knight said. “I can say, honestly, I’m not surprised he was able to do that because that’s what point guards do. They’re leaders. They gather everybody together and get it organized. That’s the kind of guy he was.”

Richards is survived by his wife, Mary Beth, who also played basketball at Pitt, and two children, son Jason, who played basketball at Davidson with Steph Curry and served on the staffs of three Pitt coaches, and daughter Lindsay, a McDonald’s All-American at Iowa and a former assistant coach at Duquesne and Pitt.

The Richards family is hosting a visitation for friends at the John A. Freyvogel Sons, 4900 Centre Ave. in Oakland, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Nov. 10 and 11. A memorial service and public celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 12 at Heinz Memorial Chapel in Oakland.