Wolves star John Richards gives his speech as he accepts the Freedom of the City . Also words from the Mayor and ex Wolves player Kenny Hibbitt.
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here. It is a pleasure and it should be all
00:23Wolves support us. Thank you very much for being here. This magma is quite humbling.
00:37I feel very honoured, very proud. I'm assuming it now means I'm an officially adopted Wolverinian.
00:48Thank you very much. I'm very proud of that as well. Thank you very much also for the
00:55scroll and the medal. It actually puts the League Cup final winner Tankard in the shade.
01:08So thank you very much, Madam Mayor. Right, and that was it. I signed a 12-month contract
01:19for Wolves and 56 years later I'm still here. So that's the story of how I got here, but
01:31it's not what kept me here. What kept me here, or rather who kept me here, is sat over there.
01:38That's my lovely wife Pam. We met after we'd been here about 18 months, or I'd been here
01:46about 18 months, and according to Pam it was a meeting that saved me. It saved my career,
01:55she was saying, because it saved me from the temptations and the distractions of the Lafayette
02:01nightclub here in Wolverhampton, which ironically is where we met. And to be honest, she's probably
02:08right. Pam has been amazing as a wife, as a mother, and as a person. She's raised a family,
02:16built a home, and basically kept everything under control, including me. Without her and
02:24her love and support, and more than a fair bit of patience and tolerance, did you put that in?
02:30I would not be the person I am today. I want to take this opportunity to thank her for everything.
02:41Including my grey hair. So why have we stayed here in Wolverhampton? There are many reasons.
02:55Obviously, the football club. I was very lucky, I joined at just the right time. Wolves were in the
03:03first division, with a very good team and some great players. People like Mike Bailey, Waggy,
03:10some younger players coming through, like Kenny, Kenny over there, and people like Jeff Palmer
03:16coming through the team. So it was a good time to join. We actually had a lot of the lads who stayed
03:21at the club for 10 years or more. And we also had a fair bit of success. So there was no need to move
03:28anywhere else. And because of that, we built up a strong bond, not just amongst the players,
03:34but with the fans as well. We were very much part of the community, and we created some very
03:41special memories together. We raised our family here. Our two daughters, one who is here with us
03:49today, Abby. Our other one is in Melbourne, in Australia. So she would have found it difficult
03:56to get in. The girls were settled and very happy at their schools with lots of friends.
04:01And Pam's parents live locally, and they gave us a great deal of support
04:06when the girls were little. So we couldn't really want for anything else. And then we have some very
04:13special friends and family. They're all dotted around this room. I'm trying to point to them
04:18because I thought they're all going to be on one table, but they're not. They're all sitting in
04:20different places. There's one friend who even goes back to my Warrington days. John, where are you?
04:27There he is. We've known each other since we were 11. Our friends and family are very important to
04:37us. They've all been very kind and supportive over the years. They played a big part in our lives,
04:44and it means a lot to have them here with us today. And then there's the place that we live.
04:52Wolverhampton and its people. Like the football club, the city has had its ups and downs,
05:01but there's a resilience and a strong, determined community spirit that keeps it going.
05:08There's so many good things happening, so many individuals, so many organisations working hard
05:14to help others, from the council to the voluntary groups. Organisations like Good Shepherd,
05:22Behaviour and Cognitive Care, the Wolves Foundation, who are represented here today,
05:27memory cafes, and there's many, many more things happening. There's a lot of good work happening
05:33in Wolverhampton. It's a caring city with a big heart. And Madam Mayor, all of these things I've
05:42mentioned have affected our choice, our decisions. But I suppose in the end, it simply comes down
05:51to where you're happy, and where you feel at home. And for us, it's Wolverhampton. Thank you.
05:59APPLAUSE
06:11Kenny Hubert, former Wolves player. Hello, sir.
06:14Hello, sir. How are you?
06:15I'm good, thank you, matey. How are you doing?
06:17I'm not bad.
06:19You're still golfing, we were just chatting off camera. Perhaps not quite as good as he used to
06:26be. It's a football and it's catchy, don't you think, Kenny?
06:30Possibly. I'll try to do some stuff like that. I still go out and enjoy the game. It's not the
06:38level or the standard I expect, but the great camaraderie you have with great friends. We
06:43have played with John occasionally. So he's a golfer as well?
06:46Yeah, well he tries to, yeah. Now we're having good fun, we're having a bit of a laugh.
06:51So we're here to celebrate his special day. Just reflect on John as a player, first off.
06:57Well, I've known him since 1969, and we've never had an argument. Never, never, no. And he's a
07:06first-class chap. And we love him, and of course he's wife of my wife, a cousin, so we have a
07:11relationship there. And we've been friends ever since. And as I say, we've never fallen out.
07:17Great player, great finisher, and a great lad, most importantly.
07:22So pleased to be here today to see him get it up.
07:24Absolutely wonderful. I think it's a great tribute to him, and very worth his cause as well. He's
07:33been in Wolverhampton now since 1969. So it's been a long time, and he's done a lot of work
07:39outside of football. It's a great honour for him, and we're absolutely thrilled for him.
07:45Well, thank you for those kind words, Kenny, and all the best to you.
07:49Cheers.
07:49Thank you very much indeed.
07:50Today and John Richards being awarded the Freedom of the City.
07:55I think it's an absolute fantastic experience for John. Fantastic for our city. John is such
08:00a lovely gentleman, does such a lot for the community. It's not just about him being a
08:05footballer, it's about what he does for our city, and I'm sure he'll be a great ambassador for us.
08:12Were you much of a football fan? Do you remember John playing back in the day?
08:14I can't. I'm old enough to remember him, but if I'm perfectly truthful, I'm not really a football
08:19fan. However, our eldest son, he's a season ticket holder. We're banned from the matches
08:25because each match we've been to, they've lost, unfortunately. It's a pity I wasn't there on
08:29Saturday when they scored against Aston Villa. How fantastic would that be, eh?
08:34So this is the first Freedom of the City since you've been Mayor. So how's it been for you,
08:38and is it important for Wolverhampton to have people like John representing the city?
08:43Definitely. I think it's such a privilege for me. It's a honour for me. I think I'm so
08:48glad that I've been able to do this during my year, and of course John, as I've said,
08:52who's a real terrific gentleman, to the point where he came up to surprise someone who I was
08:58holding a party for. It was the 100th birthday, and he was a D-Day veteran, and he loved John
09:05and remembered John, so it was lovely for John to come up and spend some time with us.
09:09Fantastic, and are you looking forward to the lunch this afternoon?
09:11I am looking forward to the lunch, and it'll be lovely to meet the rest of John's family
09:16and his friends and guests here. We've got two members of our staff who have been privileged
09:21to be able to get tickets to be able to come to see him today. They've done a lot for the
09:25community. Their peers actually put them forward for this, and obviously they're John's supporters
09:32as well, and Wolverhampton supporters, so that'll be lovely.
09:34Fantastic, thanks very much.
09:35Is that it?