RICHMOND premiership player Alan 'Bull' Richardson, the father of club great Matthew, passed away on Tuesday morning aged 74 following a long illness.

Richardson was named in Richmond's best players in its thrilling 1967 Grand Final win over Geelong, the highlight of his 103 games with the Tigers from 1959-69.

Recruited from Casterton in south-western Victoria, Richardson finished his VFL career with South Melbourne, playing seven games in 1969-70.

At 184cm and 96kg, Richardson was a bullocking ruck-rover who brought his teammates into the game with creative handball.

Richardson later had a successful coaching career in country Victoria and Tasmania, where Matthew was born.

Matthew played 282 games for Richmond from 1993-2009 and sits second on the club's all-time goals list with 800.