![]() Riggins in 2014 | |||||||||||||
No. 44 | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Fullback | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Seneca, Kansas, U.S. | August 4, 1949||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Centralia (Centralia, Kansas) | ||||||||||||
College: | Kansas (1967–1970) | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Robert John Riggins (born August 4, 1949), nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former 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.