As one of football's most colorful personalities, John Riggins is best known for his days as a running back for the Washington Redskins. His bruising, punishing style of play wore down opponents and brought new meaning to the concept of the power running game. He is equally remembered as a renegade for sporting a Mohawk early in his career and for telling U.S. Supreme Court Justice 'Sandra Day O'Connor (I)' to "lighten up."
John was born August 4, 1949 in Seneca, Kansas as Robert John Riggins. He attended Centralia High School in the small town of Centralia, Kansas, but his skills as a football player would elevate him to the big-time. He played football for the Jayhawks at the University of Kansas, where he twice earned all conference honors and broke school records once held by NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers.
His professional football career began with the New York Jets, where he played for five years and generated some respectable numbers, having broken the 1,000 yard level in his final season with the Jets in 1975. The following season, he played for the Washington Redskins, but did not have a breakout year until 1978, when he eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing and repeated the accomplishment in 1979. Unfortunately, Riggins sat out the 1980 season over a contract dispute.
In 1981 Riggins said "I'm bored, I'm broke, and I'm back" and returned to play for Washington, but did not have the kind of year he had in 1979. Although his playing time was reduced by the players' strike during the 1982 season, Riggins' performance in the post season is what most likely put him in the Hall of Fame. His most memorable performance came in Super Bowl XVII with 166 yards rushing, including the game winning 43 yard touchdown run in the Redskins' 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Riggins finished out his career in Washington after the 1985 season with 11,352 career rushing yards, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He has since worked in broadcasting and recently started a new career in acting.
