John "Bucky" Powell Richardson (born February 7, 1969) is an American former professional football quarterback. He played for Texas A&M University and the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL).

Richardson attended Broadmoor High School in Baton Rouge, LA, where he starred in both baseball and football. He played collegiately at Texas A&M and made an immediate impact as a freshman coming off the bench and making his first appearance for the Aggies against Southern Miss and future NFL star Brett Favre, Richardson led the Aggies to a road victory in Jackson when he broke away in the fourth quarter on an 82-yard touchdown. In the Cotton Bowl Classic that same season against Notre Dame. Richardson was named MVP after leading the Aggies to a come from behind victory in the 2nd half.

Against BYU in the 1990 Holiday Bowl, Richardson compiled 402 yards of total offense (203 pass, 199 run). He rushed for two touchdowns, passed for a touchdown, and caught a touchdown pass. Richardson was also an All-Southwest Conference pick his senior season in 1991, leading the Aggies with 1492 passing yards. He finished in 10th place in the Heisman Trophy voting that year.

During his Texas A&M career, Richardson rushed for 2,095 yards, a conference record for QBs. He played in three bowl games with the Aggies and led them to two SWC Championships. He finished his Aggie career 24-6-1 as a starter.

Richardson was selected in the eighth round of the 1992 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers.^[1] He played mostly in mop-up duty and even saw action on special teams during his first two seasons in the league, but when Oilers' QB Warren Moon was traded to the Vikings, Houston's quarterback position was up for grabs.

Incumbent backup Cody Carlson began the 1994 season under center, but when he separated his shoulder in the season opener, Richardson became the starting quarterback. He is fondly remembered during a preseason exhibition game against the Dallas Cowboys. Late in the game and down by one score, Richardson led the Oilers within striking distance. The drive culminated with a play during which he, a right-hander, completed the winning touchdown pass with his left arm.

Richardson was the starter for nearly half of the season and he split time with Carlson and Billy Joe Tolliver, none of the three being particularly effective as the Oilers stumbled their way to a league-worst 2–14 record. In Richardson's last regular season game as a pro, he passed for over 200 yards, leading the Oilers in a 24–10 victory over the New York Jets in the Oilers' 1994 season finale in what was Jeff Fisher's first win as an NFL head coach.

The Oilers released Richardson after drafting Steve McNair in April 1995.

The Dallas Cowboys signed Richardson in August 1995, planning to use him on special teams and to back up Daryl Johnston at fullback; however, Richardson did not see any regular-season action. The Kansas City Chiefs signed him the following year and he capped off a 1996 preseason victory with a touchdown pass for the Chiefs against his former team the Cowboys. Despite his preseason heroics, Richardson never saw action in another regular-season NFL game. He finished his career with 1,257 passing yards and 225 rushing yards on a 6.8 yards per carry average.

Richardson resides in the Houston suburb of Missouri City, Texas with his wife Tracy and their three children. He is the co-owner of Environmental Improvements, Inc., a water and waste treatment company.^[2]

• ProFootballReference.com NFL statistics
• Aggie Athletics Press Release^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• Aggiesports.com article
• Houston Pro Football article
• Preseason win with Chiefs
• Cowboys sign Richardson