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Richard MadleyRichard Madley is a Welsh auctioneer. He served as the auctioneer of the Indian Premier League auctions since the inception of the league in 2008 and last appeared as an auctioneer at an IPL auction in 2018. He was nicknamed as the Hammer Man.[1] CareerRichard represented Wales in junior international hockey and also plied his trade in cricket while playing in the Surrey League.[2] In junior hockey, he represented Wales at various age groups namely under-18, under-19 ans under-21 levels at European Championships.[2] Richard joined the prominent auction house of Phillips Son and Neale in Stratford, New Bond Street in 1978 initially working as a floor sweeper.[3] At Phillips Son and Neale, he was then promoted as a salesroom porter thereby embarking on a career trajectory oriented towards auctioneering.[2] He also hosted auctions of Impressionist Art, Old Master drawings, fine jewellery and 18th century furniture.[4] He also learnt the basics of portering, sales & marketing, accountancy and cataloguing in addition to auctioneering during his corporate career.[2] He was introduced to host rugby memorabilia auctions in Arms Park Rugby Stadium in Cardiff. He was also later appointed as an auctioneer for the Welsh Rugby Players Association.[5] He also appeared regularly in television and radio broadcasts on BBC and ITV. He also predominantly worked as an auction expert for the BBC television game show Bargain Hunt, which was regarded as the most popular daytime TV programme in Great Britain.[6][5] He was the fulcrum in helping to facilitate viewership for Antiques Roadshow, a British programme in which appraisers travel to various regions of the UK to share knowledge on a number of intricate antique items.[7] After serving at Philips Son and Neale for nearly two decades, he accepted an invitation to join Christie's as President of Christie's East, New York.[3] He began working as an auctioneer after moving to New York and engaged in auctioning baseball memorabilia.[2] He had hosted auctions selling baseball memorabilia, rugby memorabilia before making a switch to cricket, a sport in which Madley was more keen, eager and passionate about doing an auction.[8] In September 2001, he was incidentally the last auctioneer to conduct an auction at the World Trade Centre in New York City, when he was at the forefront in proceeding with the auction at the Windows of the World located on the 107th floor.[5] The auction which he conducted at the World Trade Centre was subject to a massive terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, famously dubbed as the 9/11 attack, and the building was demolished exactly eight days later after Richard Madley had hosted an auction at the building.[2] Richard Madley rose to prominence and limelight for his professional conduct of IPL auctions. He became immensely popular among fans for his unique approach and signature style in handling the role as an auctioneer during his ten-year stint in the Indian Premier League.[9][10] He was brought on board as auctioneer for the 2008 Indian Premier League auction. He was regarded as the face of the Indian Premier League auctions, but his popularity plunged in late 2018, when Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to part ways with him prior to the 2019 IPL auction, as BCCI replaced him with Hugh Edmeades.[11][12][13][14] The London Times, once highlighted that Richard was indeed the most important man in cricket.[15][16] He recalled refreshing memories of how he witnessed an important moment as an auctioneer when Chennai Super Kings franchise went all out to desperately acquire Indian wicketkeeper batsman MS Dhoni during the inaugural IPL auction which was held on 20 February 2008.[17][18] Richard insisted that the auction became intense the moment Dhoni's name was announced by him when he was the auctioneer during the 2008 IPL auction, whereas it propelled excitement with most of the franchise representatives who were at the auction tables who had engaged in a bidding war to secure the services of Dhoni.[19][20][21][22] In September 2024, he was appointed as an auctioneer to host the player auction ahead of the 2025 SA20.[23][17][24] References
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