John Riggins
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| No. 44 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | August 4, 1949 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Seneca, Kansas | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Centralia (KS) | ||||||||
| College: | Kansas | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Rushing yards: | 11,352 |
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| Average: | 3.9 |
| Total touchdowns: | 116 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Robert John Riggins (born August 4, 1949), nicknamed "The Diesel" and "Riggo", is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He was known for his powerful running style and productivity well into the latter years of his career; in 1983, at age 34 he rushed for an NFL single-season record 24 touchdowns, and again led the league in rushing touchdowns the following season at age 35. Although he had only one Pro Bowl appearance in his career, Riggins had his greatest success in the postseason, and was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XVII. Riggins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Riggins was born in Seneca, Kansas and attended Centralia High School in Centralia, Kansas. While there, he was a three-sport athlete, earning high school All-American recognition in football, all-state honors in basketball and twice winning the Class B 100-yard dash state title.
Riggins' high school is now located on John Riggins Avenue, which runs through a main part of Centralia.
On October 12, 2012 John with his brothers Frank (Junior) and Bill Riggins were on hand to dedicate the Centralia High School football field renaming it Riggins Field in honoring their parents, Franklin Eugene and Mildred Riggins. The Pro Football Hall of Fame dedicated a plaque and NFL Films was there to film the event. The Riggins brothers took center field for the opening coin toss and the Centralia High School Panthers went on to beat the Troy (Kansas) High School Trojans with a final score of 55 – 0.
Riggins attended and played college football at the University of Kansas for the Jayhawks, where he was an All-American and two-time All-Big Eight Conference first-team selection. Riggins led the Jayhawks to a Big Eight Conference championship win in 1968. The team then went to the 1969 Orange Bowl, which they lost to Pennsylvania State University, 15-14.
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