That's why people like myself can't connect with the modern day NFL player anymore..Now they come to training camp in limos or driving Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces.
@@MegaSammy70Well said. That’s why one of my all time players in Jay Novacek. A Nebraska cowboy, Wyoming Cowboy, and a Dallas Cowboy who played like a working cowboy. Not to mention he won the WAC decathlon and placed fourth in the NCAA championships. Most importantly he’s humble and down to earth.
I never saw a guy run like Riggins. He was a freaking battering ram! He could run at full speed with his head down and just blast his way through the line. It usually took three or four guys to get him down. Just a tough farm boy that loved football.
I dearly remember Our Savior, John Riggins, saving our bacon game after game. What a force! What Drive! He’ll always be a legend for RFK Stadium. Happy to see him again doing well. Very articulate speaker. He always spoke his mind. He knew his capabilities to a T. Thanks for the fantastic memories. Love #44 forever🏈🧡❤️
Anthony Brown I couldn’t agree more... I played in those days ( not the same quality play!); Riggins really did play TOUGH! He is a classic Hall of Fame member, without peer in his day. Not many ever. Watching these clips is a treat down memory lane reminding me of those days of supreme ruggedness of 🏈 football, rough and tumble‼️
It's a shame to see this position all but gone from the game of football. Although I was always a linemen, Riggins was someone I really liked to watch.
When I was a kid a young man in my late teens I met John riggins at a service station I pulled up in my old GMC and he pulled up in a Ford maroon color said rigo on the side of it I looked at him I said John I'm a big fan but I'm not a fan of Ford he said to me well if they give you a million dollars and a new truck every year you would be a fan wouldn't you I said yes sir he was a great easy to talk to he was really just a country boy at heart
NEVER FORGET THE TALK ME AND RIGGO HAD OUTSIDE NATS STADIUM FEW YEARS AGO, WE REALLY SHARED MOMENTS ABOUT RFK WHERE I GREW UP AROUND THE CORNER FROM, WE HAD THE GREATEST TALK EVER!!!!!! WE POPPED A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE FROM HIS LIMO AND SHOOK HANDS AND HE GAVE ME AN AUTOGRAPHED JERSEY!!!!! ##44 THE DIESEL WAS THE BIZZNESS!
I remember that superbowl the kept showing Riggins in pregame, 9 years old I asked my dad whos that? He replied a man about to raise alot of hell tonight. R.I.P. dad.
"He came to play." Man, did he ever!!! If I could sit down and have a few beers with one person, John Riggins would be that person. Can you imagine the stories he has to tell?
@@johnzablosky9099 -He has a net worth of $6 Million Dollars you stupid fucker. Which is exactly $6 Million Dollars *MORE* Than you have. Class dismissed.
Back in the 80's my father and (really attractive) step mom went to a bar in Georgetown called The Paul Mall- known to be a Redskins hangout after games. It was really crowded and she wanted to sit. Found a lone empty barstool and walked up to the guy sitting next to it and asked "is this seat taken?". Riggins replied "baby, as long as I've got a face, you've got a place to sit"- true story!
I remember going into Theismann‘s in Vienna Virginia, and of course I would wear my bears jacket on purpose because I knew that Riggins and Theismann would be in there. It was great fun until they were going to lift me over their head and toss me out the door. I agreed to take that off, and we all sat down and had a beer. Amazing guys.
In an age when masculinity is held in such low regard, to hear someone say they emulated John Wayne is just so refreshing...gotta love Riggo...not a PC bone in his body.
@@jimhayes7594 So Jim, are you ashamed of racism? Gun violence? That the government should be able to tell a woman whether or not she can have an abortion?
@@4orrcountry Oh, leave him alone. He's probably old, nostalgic, and just spouting what fox has been beating into his head for the last 20 years. That's how things are these days - there are many decent people who've been brainwashed into believing utter lies. Confronting them isn't going to change their point of view.
John Riggins and local DC sports news anchor Glenn Brenner made sports during the '80s so much fun to watch. My oldest brother, who had no interest whatsoever in sports or football, came to town and suddenly took an interest. It helped that Coach Gibbs had the team winning and Super Bowl appearances that made it that much more of a reason to pay attention, but Riggins always stole the show. What a man. I still love seeing that run against Miami in the Super Bowl when ever I feel I need an uplift. Party on John.
Old Redskins fan here, and I feel the same way about Emmitt Smith. Scared the 💩outta me, but played his heart out. Nothing but respect and admiration. Glad he’s retired. 😅
To quote Don Meredith on Monday Night Football way back when.......Hi Diddle Diddle Riggins up the middle. He's my kind of guy, and that was my kind of football. We miss you John, and THANKS.
So, not that this was behind Meredith's saying. But, Don, John, and Coach Ewbank are or were all members of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. This is also my Fraternity, thankfully.
I just love the attitude. That is success, ladies and gentlemen. the attitude which encompassed way more than the mere game of football. Thank you John. Never change.
This was awesome. Did not expect it hold my attention the whole time like it did. Helps that he is so well spoken and so compelling to listen to. I've always been a Bears fan who adored Walter and, accordingly, loves the running game. I vividly remember Riggins' playing days fondly. One of the best RB's. He was and is a colorful character.
As a young rugby player in England and us getting some highlights of gridiron on the new free to air channel in the early 80s I loved watching Riggins and the Redskins even though he was at the back end of his career he was still a unit. He would have loved playing rugby league and the sheer brutality of man against man and no pads.
John Riggins : The ONLY running back in NFL history to gain more yards rushing and score more rushing touchdowns in his 30's than in his 20's ! An amazing feat that will never be duplicated.
How can you not love this guy, says exactly what's on his mind not bothering to worry about what people think, today that's frowned upon by our fragile, perpetually offended generation.
It was a great privilege to grow up in DC area and be witness to Riggins' style of football; arguably one of the very best to ever have played the game.
I owned a business in the Fulton fish market nyc. They always had tours coming down to walk thru the market. It was about 20 years ago, a tour is passing thru my stand. I take a double look, and low and behold, it’s Riggins. Got an autograph and a picture on my old flip phone, he was a very laid back, cool guy.
Yeah, but Riggins wasn't having any fun. 'Cuz as everybody knows, if you can't prance around like a self-absorbed idiot after you do your job, there's no way to have any fun. At least that's what the dopes today keep telling me. Seriously though Joe, spot on.
My kids were so proud to wear #44 on there jersey from peewee through college football. My daughter proudly sported #44 playing college lacrosse. My favorite memory's are our Redskins rocking RFK stadium with John leading the charge. Fast forward to 2018 ... players don't respect the game and act like complete stooges. So freaking tired of every Sunday as we watch some shmo do an X-rated TD celebration when there teams down by two TDs ...Much respect #44 !
Riggins was a workhorse! This is when there were animals in the NFL. If you notice in that clip before the game during the National Anthem he was standing proud with his right hand over his heart! I am lucky to know how real football used to be!
6'2" 245 and ran 9.8 100 YARD (added via edit) in high school. Won state his jr and sr years. Was as big and strong as Jim Brown and probably faster. If he'd been treated like a franchise back in his 20s, REALLY been developed, with an offense built around him, he just may have been the greatest RB of all time.
Cavannaro: That IS very fast, but keep in mind it was the 100 YARD, not 100 METERS. Darrell Green was an entirely different level of speed. Riggins was extremely fast for a big man, but Green was fast for ANY man. Green once ran the 100 meter in 10.08, which would convert to a 9.2 in the 100 yard! He was clocked in the 40 at 4.4, which is right there with the fastest of the fast. My biggest regret about Riggins will always be that he spent his best physical years with the Jets, a team that just didn't provide him the environment he needed to really thrive. He still rolled off 2 1000 yard seasons, if you give him 55 yards in '72 when he missed 3 games. Then when he went to to Washington he spent his first 2 seasons as a blocking back. So his first 7 seasons in the league - which is an entire career for many RBs - he was completely under-utilized. Get this: in his 5 seasons with the Jets there was only 1 year he averaged under 4 yds per carry. He actually didn't do his best running in his 30s. He just finally got the damn ball in his 30s.
Sean Anspach John Riggins was easily one of the top ten running backs of all time. The size of a fullback, speed of tailback, tremendous hands, excellent blocker and a nose for the ending like all the greats had. Great as a NY Jet but once he ran behind that stud line in DC, wow oh wow. BTW, I'm a long time NY Giant fan!!!
@@samyoung5964 You must be really stupid or perhaps just ignorant. Riggins was the top dog. He'd run your crack over and leave you crying in a ball.....
Eagle fan here. Mad respect for Riggo. Whole NFC east was dominant back then. This guy was an absolute beast playing on an already good Redskin team. I live in Va, Redskin territory. I tell young guys all the time, Redskins were good every year back then
@@martinalarcon3108 True. Cardinals did have Jim Hart, T Metcalf, and Roy Green. Among other greats. Roy Green was a great DB who played WR at same time.
supreme badass. perhaps the most amazing thing was that this huge bruiser would run away from defensive backs once he got into the secondary. so much fun to watch as a young skins fan.
@@johnre3991 if you are talking program listing, those numbers were always bull. Joe Jacoby was listed at 290-295. Actually tipped the scales at more like 305-310. Back then 300lb lineman were rare and considered fat and slow. Big difference in today's game. Riggo and all the Hogs were BIG boys. Smallest of the bunch was Mark May. Had to turn to get through a door but had a waist about 36". And he was a fullback/ halfback in high school doing the Riggo drill on poor unfortunate high school kids half his size. When he got to Pitt, coach said, young man, you're a lineman. Won the Outland trophy at Pitt. This was the caliber of line Riggo was running behind. Counter trey all day. Still being utilized to this day. Think Gary Kubiak and his run zone offense. I could run behind that for some gain! But with Riggo it was speed and size, but also power. When he hit the hole, if you were in his way, you weren't there for long. His ability to just knock defensive players down was amazing. Think McDonald from Pittsburgh sitting that D back down, but every play! So much fun to watch.
Michael Downey actually the center Jeff bostic was the lightest. I'm not going by program listings. John Madden used to always say 240 lbs and even Madden used to exaggerate than. u can see riggens body type he would have been a little fat at 250 at 6'2". his legs were not extra big like Earl campell who at 5'11'' weighed 230. the only rb in the league over 250 than was Pete Johnson of cinncinnati. the program had riggins listed at 230 but he was a little bigger than that but not 250. either way he was very fast for his weight but in 1983 he started to slow down a little with all those carries he had in the Redskins big year when they were 14-2. riggins was a freak at 34 but one of the reasons he was so good at an old age was because he wasn't burnt out at an early age. he didn't carry the ball much when he was younger and even took a year off in 1980. guys like Campbell and Dickerson carried the ball nearly 400 times in their first few years. riggins claim to fame was 1982 playoffs where he gained about 640 yds in the playoffs in 4 games to SB mvp. other great similar playoffs was Marcus Allen in 83 and Terrell Davis in 97.
I met john at a seahawks game while hanging out afterwards with my friend john yarno ( original center for jim zorn ),riggo had always been my hero ,I saw 44 sitting in the back of a limmo and I went over shook his hand and he said he hoped I enjoyed the game and hoped the redskin s covered the point spread after they stomped Seattle ...autographed a hat for me,walked off to the team bus with a pint of scotch in his pocket and said, damn that was fun,God bless Riggo
During the time when Riggins played,the run game featured defensive players that were hard to run against. Riggins was a runner that ran at,through and over the defensive line and the linebackers. Most of the time without blocking. He was a nightmare for the defense. He was byfar one of the hardest runners to tackle(besides Earl Campbell & Jim Brown to ever play the running back position.of all times.
I'm 55 and been a Redskins fan for 52 years probably. I absolutely loved John Riggins. I think he is the greatest Redskin of all time !!! And i can remember Billy Kilmer and Charlie Brown and many others before and after John and i think he was the best of the best
I got into football in about 67 as a fan, I remember seeing a lot of the greats,Namath, Unitas, Brown, Payton, didn’t know I was witnessing football history, Riggins was a beast. Those were the days. 😊
It is very rare for a running back to play so many years in the NFL as Riggins did . He wasn't exactly a Jimmy Brown but close to it and he played several more years than Brown did in his career in the NFL . Riggins must have been gifted with a toughness which correct me if wrong, he never had an injury that kept him out for the season . Like Jimmy Brown he had the speed and the power to run through or bowl over defenders . Now Larry Csonka had the power but could not break away for a longer gain
My family had season Redskin Tickets. I was at all of the playoff games in 1982, including the NFC championship “WE WANT DALLAS, WE WANT DALLAS!!!!” Still the greatest sporting event that I’ve ever been to, I’m now 57 YO. It was also the loudest and the stadium only held 55,000. RFK was rocking that day. I soooo miss those days. I was 15 years old. I still remember the smell of RFK Stadium.
I was brought-up on rooting for the Redskins! They were the team that was shown here in NC back in the day. My Dad, Redskins fan all the way, made me an instant Redskins fan. I was there whether they were winning or losing. But when Riggins came to Washington everything changed! He was the MAN back then, and he's STILL THE MAN today! They don't make-um like him anymore. And props to Gibbs for bringing him back!
Because of the strike during the '82 season, the playoffs had to be reconfigured. It was 3 rounds per conference for seeds 1 through 8 (Redskins were 1 in the NFC), so nobody got a bye week and the Super Bowl was the following week after the NFC / AFC title games. So in 4 post-season games in 4 consecutive weeks, Riggins ran for over 600 yards. That was just a ridiculously sick stat, not to mention getting 30-plus carries per game. And this on the wrong side of 30 for a running back.
I suppose you don't know Tommy Lee Jones. Just to fill you in...Tommy Lee Jones is a for sure Prick from San Saba Texas. Thats fact. Hell of an actor for damn sure
I wasn’t a big football fan but I remember my brother’s and Dad watching football and hearing them talk about Riggins. Explains why I’m now watching this video. I’m surprised myself!
It was that 3-season stretch from '82-84 that did it. And when he retired he was only 1 of 4 players with more than 11,000 yards rushing. Brown, Harris, and Simpson being the only others at that time. He's still in the top-20 now all time. Pretty amazing considering he's been retired more than 3 decades.
@@bwiser5206 What can you say? When George Blanda was cut from the Bears in 1959, George Halas told him that there was nothing more he was going to accomplish as a professional football player.
What a glorious player! Early 90's came to the DC hotspot I worked - didn't stay long. It looked like something disturbed and he bailed smartly. Dressed really sharp/classy, he dieseled right past me going the door - a truly magnificent man!
Man what a beast of a football player luved watching him run over people like a steam roller and man was he fast!! One of the greatest if not the greatest fullbacks ever played!!! Thanx John!
Great video. In the UK we first saw American Football on tv in the 1970s and as a rugby player I was fascinated. Riggins was so obviously one of the greats, along with such as Montana, Marino and Walter Payton.
Grew up loving this guy. Dad is from the east coast and all I ever heard about was the Steelers, Redskins, Eagles, and Giants. I’m a Packers fan but they just don’t make football players like this anymore! Football has gotten soft and getting even softer. My love for football came from it’s intensity and hard play. I tried to mold myself after the greats but the softness of football today is ruining the game I love so much.
In the late 60's and early 70's when I watched these games as a kid and young teenager, I was a Cowboy's fan. But when the two played against each other, I always wanted to see John get the ball just to see what the guy was going to do. He would run into a pile of people and push them back 3 or 4 yards. He was awesome to watch. Riggins, Payton, Dorsett, Butkus, Staubach, Greene, Lilly, Campbell, etc., I'll never forget those guys and the ball they played. It was a magical time in sports and I got a little pixie dust sprinkled on me.
It's painful to even think of watching an NFL game these day's. You can turn the device on that has a game on, if you find a way to even watch without being some computer expert and dolling out cash from a credit card. Then your bombarded with advertising and bullshit that has nothing to do with what you want to see. By the time the game starts It's unrecognizable and you soon figure out that the business side has overtaken the human side and walk away in frustration wishing for the day's of old. Sorry my friend, their gone forever, only to live in our memories but what memories, of true football and the warriors of olden day's
5 лет назад
14:50 The Great #44 Singing & STANDING with his hand over his Heart for The National Anthem. Those WERE the days in The NFL when it WAS a Great American Sport.
Yea what a contrast to those sissy millionaires that decided take a knee last year. Riggins would have had twice he yardage against those pussys. He was EXCITING!! What a player...
@@williamprice2677 NFL NBA MLB = have been infiltrated with the woke BULLSHIT of anti-USA lies & hypocrisy. ALL aspects of American life are being invaded by all of the various anti-USA BS lies and hypocrisy. American Patriots will hault that invasion.
I am gratified to be updated about John. Truly, God created him to be a winner. If he had to enjoy himself along the way.......that's on him. I resemble that!
@Matt Beeman -Get out of town. It starts with Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders. Those are the 3 best. Period. And, I put Riggins in squarely at #4. Emmitt has the records (& he was great), but a lot of his success was a product of the system he was in and the teammates around him. I won't necessarily knock him out of the Top-5, because I respect his durability and the all-time rushing mark that he holds. But, when it gets down to "the eyeball test", yeah, there's more than 5 backs (including Riggins) that I'd put ahead of Emmitt. As for Campbell? I love the dude. And yeah, he's one of those backs that I'd put ahead of Emmitt with regards to "the eyeball test". But, no bro. Campbell wasn't better than Riggins. Not in any, way, shape or form. Riggins CARRIED his team on his back. Everyone knew that he pulled the Redskins' wagon. Stop Riggins and the Redskins are toast. Yet, no one could stop him and he CARRIED his team to a Superbowl victory. All while leading "The 5 O'Clock Club". Dude, Riggins has a strong case that he's not only one of the Top-5 running backs in NFL history, but one of the Top-5 PLAYERS of All-Time! Remember, he played back when the game was REAL!
I was in RFK for the Vikings '82 playoff. When the Diesel horn made its debut. Riggins single-handed demolished the Vikes. 37 carries, 180 yards. They took him out early to great applause. We were all screaming. The stands in my section were jumping up and down, literally moving so much that beer was flying everywhere. So, Riggins paused for 15 seconds on the sidelines. The game is ready to start again. But he comes strolling SLOWLY out to the center of the field. He takes four deep bows on every point of the compass. Strolls off in slow motion. The loudest cheering in history of sports. I still get goosebumps. One final thing -- the Hogs and Joe Bugel. What a great team, coaches, GM, and best owner in the history of NFL. Watch this -- taylorblitztimes.com/tag/john-riggins-bow/
I'm a true blue Cowboy fan. But damn it l loved watching him play. Those great days to me are over. Yes, we all still love our teams. But the toughness of that era. We'll never see it again.
John Riggins career average was 3.9 ypc. His best was 4.6 as a Jet, and 4.4 as Redskin. As for teaming Riggins with Earl Cambell, it would not work. Yes Riggins was a complete player. Campbell was not. Cambell ran left and he ran right.
Jeez. Somebody who knows what they are talking about. As a Houstonian and a UT graduate, I have to admit that Earl could not block or catch a downfield pass. Utterly incompetent at both and I don't understand why somebody with his power couldn't block. But he couldn't, I don't know if for lack of trying or whatever, but he couldn't block anybody. That's why I'll always consider other backs ahead of Dickerson, Brown, et. al as being the greatest.
😫 I was a 17yo kid who had been a find fan since '72. Riggins' TD run just killed me . Both my brothers was redskins fans 😖. But after watching this , almost 50yrs later , I will say ... I too am a Riggins fan 👍
I'm from Kansas l remember him winning the 1 hundred yards dash in high school Kansas is home of the greatest running backs play the game Gayle Sayers John Riggins Barry Sanders do the math
