Riggins' Retirement

[SmootSmack]

Ricky Williams' abrupt retirment has me wondering, can some of the elder statesmen in this forum enlighten the rest of us about the story and reaction behind John Riggins' sudden retirement during training camp in 1980?

[dieselhog]

I was only a kid when Riggo retired (13 or so) but he was a hero to us early Brit NFL fans.

It wasn't seen as much of a shock (although many were upset). Riggins was into his thirties, his knees were shot and he sucked in air between every play. I remember actually thinking I was surprised he had been able to take the pounding for as long as he did.

Over here though, amongst NFL fans John is a legend.

[Summo]

Hey Guy's,
He retired later than 1980, I belive it was after the '85 season after they lost to the Bears at home in the playoffs, and he retired because of a chronic back problem that kept him from playing in some games that season. I too was very upset when he retired but his best days were behind him at that point.

[Dave Butz Baby!]

He "retired" during training camp before the 1980 season and sat out that year. I really don't remember why he did, other than Riggins was the kind of guy to do whatever the hell he wanted to. Sound like Ricky Williams?



Gibbs went to his farm in Kansas the following spring to meet him and see if he wanted to come back and play. He never met Riggins, but did meet his wife, who Gibbs told that Riggo was welcome to come back if he wanted to.

Riggins showed up in camp about a month after that with the immortal line: "I'm bored, I'm broke, and I'm back."

[Summo]

Sorry I misunderstood. Was the "Retirement" in '80 considered an official one, or was him just sitting out over a contact dispute? I also want to correct my last post, he retired for good after the '84 season after they lost to the Bears, and in '85 is when Theismann had his leg snapped.

[That Guy]

in 1980 riggo was holding out for more money (a lot more i recall) and the front office took a hard line against that, so he sat out for a while.

[huntz]

'Skins went 6-10 that season RIggins held out and it cost Pardee his job. Didn't have a great running game without Big John. As the story goes, Gibbs wanted to sign Riggins then deal him; thought he was wacked. Riggins said he'd return but the new deal had to have a no-trade clause.

[SmootSmack]

That's really interesting huntz. I had no idea Gibbs' plan was to trade Riggo.

[Hogskin]

Originally Posted by smootsmack

That's really interesting huntz. I had no idea Gibbs' plan was to trade Riggo.

Same here - I never heard that one before.

My recollection about the end of his career may not be 100% accurate, but here it is: Riggo was my FAV Redskin, ranking right up with Sonny and Charlie Taylor. I LOVED watching him carry the ball. That last season, it seems he was getting fewer carries - getting spelled for a rest on more series than in the past. It was a real shame, because John was always at his best after pounding the defense with many carries. His 4th quarters were awesome, and not just because were were running out the clock in many of them. But late in the last season, (and I THINK late in the game), he was handed the ball or caught a pass in the flat (don't remember). He broke it for a HUGE gain down the left side - and we really needed it at the time. But a defender caught him, punched the ball out from behind, and we lost the ball. I think that may have been his last carry. Again, not certain, but it definitely put him on the bench. The real shame of it was that he had a very low fumble incidence in his career.

Now, can anyone relate the Jurgy "retirement" - the meeting in a motel where he was told he was not in the team's plans. That one should not have happened that way to such a great player and "team" player. I don't recall the details.