Robert John Riggins (born August 4, 1949), nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former professional football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks. Riggins was known for his "bell cow" running style and productivity well into the later years of his career. In the 1983 season, at age 34, he rushed for a then-NFL record of 24 touchdowns, a record which stood for almost 20 seasons. Riggins again led the league in rushing touchdowns during the 1984 season at age 35. Although he earned only one Pro Bowl appearance in his career, Riggins had his greatest success in the postseason and was named MVP of Super Bowl XVII where he scored one touchdown and rushed for 166 yards in a 27–17 win for the Redskins over the Miami Dolphins. Riggins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Early life
Riggins was born in Seneca, Kansas, is of Irish, English, and Czech ancestry, 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.
College career
Riggins attended the University of Kansas and played for the Jayhawks, where he was an All-American and two-time All-Big Eight Conference first-team selection. The team then went to the 1969 Orange Bowl, which they lost to Penn State, 15–14.
While at Kansas, Riggins majored in journalism.
Professional career
New York Jets
Riggins was the first running back selected in the 1971 NFL draft, at sixth in the first round, by the New York Jets. As a rookie he became the first Jet to lead the team in both rushing and receiving. On October 15, 1972, the Jets set a team-record of 333 rushing yards against the New England Patriots, beating them 41–13. Riggins, who had 168 yards, and Emerson Boozer, who had 150 yards, became the only running back tandem in franchise history who both rushed for 150 yards in a game. On December 21, 1975, he ran for 121 yards against the Dallas Cowboys which gave him 1,005 for the season.
Washington Redskins
thumb|right|Riggins dressed as [[Santa Claus at the White House with Nancy Reagan in 1984]]
In 1976, Riggins signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins, He was used mostly in short-yardage situations in his first season with Washington and missed much of the 1977 season with a knee injury. He then chose to leave camp and the Redskins placed him on the left camp-retired list, a move that made him ineligible to play for any other team in the league.
"He had a camouflage outfit on", Gibbs recalled.