William Richardson was horn December 25, 1903, in Los Angles, California. He would attend Culver military Academy 1918–1922. Upon arrival to the Academy, William insisted on being called “Beef” and soon, when all got to see him in action on the athletic squads (soccer, volleyball, tennis, football plus track and field), everyone understood why he wished to be called “Beef”. He excelled in track as a long sprinter in the 440-yards and 880-yards, in which he established Academy records in both. His 880-yard time of 1:59.2 for the Culver Military Academy Eagles in 1922 would lead to an appearance at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. The Indiana High School record at the time was 2:05.2 by Halford Brown of Frankfort High School and not until 1933 would William’s mark be broken by Mel Truitt of Hammond High School.
William won the 800-meter run at the 1924 Olympic Trials at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1:53.6 and he would place fifth at the Paris Olympic Games. It was reported that his fastest 800-meter run might have occurred the night that the team arrived at their training center in Rocquencourt, France. They had just gotten into a deep sleep from the 13-day trip across the Atlantic to France, when they were called upon to save the lives of many, as fire broke out in the village. Twenty homes caught fire almost simultaneously. The race to the fire gave all their first real sprinting since leaving port in the United States. William ran the race of his life to the local powerhouse to shut off the city electrical power.
In 1925, Richardson helped Stanford win their first PCC title at Seattle by running the third leg on the winning 4x440 relay. He was the NCAA runner-up in the 800-meters, helping Stanford University to their first NCAA championship. In the 1926 PCC meet, Stanford won the team championship for the second time with William helping with two wins: the 880-yard 1:54.2 and as a member of the winning mile relay.
His running was described by Stanford sport historian Don Liebendorfer in his 1972 book, “The Color of Life is Red”, as “the most graceful runner these eyes have beheld.”