John Riggins Robert John Riggins , nicknamed " The Diesel " and " Riggo " , ( born August 4 , 1949 ) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins . Riggins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992 . Early life . Riggins was born in Seneca , Kansas and attended Centralia High School in Centralia , Kansas . While there , he was a three - sport athlete , earning high school All - America n 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 and played college football at the University of Kansas for the Jayhawks , where he was an All - America n and two - time All - Big Eight Conference first - team selection . Riggins led the Jayhawks to a Big Eight Conference championship win in 1968 . The team then went to the 1969 Orange Bowl , which they lost to Pennsylvania State University , 15 - 14 . During his senior season in 1970 , Riggins rushed for 1 , 131 yards and scored a then school - record 14 touchdowns . He finished his career with 2 , 659 rushing yards , which broke Gale Sayers ' s career rushing record for the school ( now ranked fifth for Kansas ' all - time rushing leaders and 14th for total yards ) . While at Kansas , Riggins majored in journalism . New York Jets ( 1971 – 1975 ) . Riggins was drafted in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the New York Jets and 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 . Although he missed the final two games in 1972 because of knee surgery , Riggins rushed for 944 yards , four yards less than Matt Snell ' s franchise record . Riggins was among the top ten rushers in the American Football Conference in 1974 despite missing four games with a shoulder injury . After only four years with the Jets , he was already the fourth leading rusher in team history with 2 , 875 yards . In 1975 , Riggins became the first player in franchise history to rush for 1 , 000 or more yards in a season . On December 21 , 1975 , he ran for 121 yards against the Dallas Cowboys which gave him 1 , 005 for the season . In what turned out to be his last season with the Jets , Riggins made his only appearance in the Pro Bowl . Riggins was named the Jets ' MVP ( now known as the Martin Award ) in 1972 and 1975 . Washington Redskins ( 1976 – 1979 ) . In 1976 , Riggins signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins , who offered him a four - year , $ 1 . 5 million contract , compared to the $ 75 , 000 he earned in his final year with the Jets . 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 . However , he gained more than 1 , 000 yards each of the next two seasons and was a major part of the Redskins ' offense . Contract dispute ( 1980 ) . During training camp in July 1980 , Riggins requested to renegotiate his $ 300 , 000 - per - year contract and the Redskins refused . 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 . Riggins sat out the 1980 season and did not rejoin the Redskins until 1981 , when new Washington head coach Joe Gibbs traveled to Kansas to make a peace offering . " He had a camouflage outfit on " , Gibbs recalled . Riggins ' return also came at the suggestion of Ed Garvey , who was the executive director of the NFL Players Association . Eleven months after he left , Riggins returned to training camp in 1981 with a new contract , telling the media " I ' m bored , I ' m broke , and I ' m back . " Riggins Washington Redskins ( 1981 – 1985 ) . Upon Riggins ' return in 1981 , he managed just 714 rushing yards but scored 13 touchdowns . During the strike - shortened 1982 season , Riggins gained 553 yards . He was much more successful during the playoffs , during which he gained 444 yards in victories over the Detroit Lions , Minnesota Vikings ( where he had a franchise playoff record 185 yards ) , and Dallas Cowboys , and helped the Redskins reach Super Bowl XVII . Riggins rushed for a then - Super Bowl record 166 yards on 38 carries as the Redskins beat the Miami Dolphins 27 – 17 . He was then named Super Bowl MVP . A play that was designed for gaining short yardage called " 70 chip " turned out to be the key play of the game . With 10 minutes remaining , Riggins took a handoff on 4th - and - inches , broke an attempted tackle by Dolphin cornerback Don McNeal and ran for a 43 - yard touchdown . The Super Bowl win was the Redskins ' first championship victory since 1942 . Riggins ' total of 610 yards amounted to 43 percent of Washington ' s offense in the four playoff games . His four consecutive playoff games with over 100 yards was an NFL postseason record . On December 6 , 2007 , Riggins ' run was voted by fans as the Redskins ' Greatest Moment . The 610 rushing yards and 625 yards from scrimmage he gained in the 1982 playoffs are both single NFL postseason records . In 1983 , Riggins rushed for 1 , 347 yards , scored a then - NFL record 24 touchdowns , won the Bert Bell Award , and was named All - Pro for the first time in his career . Riggins went on to have another outstanding postseason , rushing for 242 yards and two touchdowns in their two playoff games , extending his NFL record of postseason games with at least 100 rushing yards to six . He then rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown in the Redskins ' 38 - 9 Super Bowl XVIII loss against the Los Angeles Raiders . Two other career milestones happened in 1983 for Riggins . On November 20 , 1983 , he set an NFL record by scoring in his 12th consecutive game during a 42 – 20 win over the Los Angeles Rams . His record would end at 13 consecutive games the following week . Then on December 17 , 1983 , Mark Moseley set an NFL kicking record by scoring 161 points in a season , which also made him the league leader in scoring that season . Riggins , who scored 144 points , was second on the season scoring list . This was the first time since 1951 that the top two scorers in a season played on the same team . Riggins gained 1 , 239 yards in 1984 and tied for the league lead in rushing TDs ( 14 ) , despite a bad back . In 1985 , he rushed for more than 100 yards in three of his last four starts before being replaced by George Rogers as the starter . He retired after that season . Riggins played 175 games in 14 seasons , had 13 , 442 total yards ( 11 , 352 rushing and 2 , 090 receiving ) and 116 total touchdowns ( 104 rushing and 12 receiving ) . Riggins rushed over 1 , 000 yards five times in his career and over 100 yards in 35 games , including a then - record six in post - season . He rushed 251 times for 996 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine post - season contests . He was the second player ever to rush for over 100 touchdowns in NFL history , and the first to do it since Jim Brown reached the milestone in 1965 . After football . Acting . In 1994 , he began acting lessons and has since starred in off - off - Broadway productions of the plays " Gillette " and " A Midsummer Night ' s Dream " ( in which he played Bottom ) . His television credits include " Guiding Light " , " " and " One Tree Hill " . Riggins ' acting career began at Centralia High when a teacher cast him as the lead role in his junior play . His career as a professional actor started in 1992 when he appeared in " Illegal Motion " at the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts . He starred as the beleaguered head football coach accused of inappropriate recruiting practices . US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O ' Connor attended his opening night where she presented him with a dozen roses , and letting him know that she always admired his character notwithstanding the " loosen up , Sandy baby " comment he made to her years before at a formal Washington DC dinner party , where " Riggo " fell asleep ( really , passed out after having too much to drink ) under the table during a presidential speech . Arrest . On May 7 , 1992 , Riggins was arrested in Arlington , Virginia and charged with driving while intoxicated . He was taken to the Arlington County jail - brought before Virginia Magistrate Daniel J Aragona - arraigned and released later that day . He was also charged by police for refusing to take a breath or blood test following his arrest and spent several hours in the Arlington County jail before being released on $ 750 bond . Commentating . Since retiring from professional football , Riggins has worked as a sports commentator on television and radio . In 1998 , John and Chris Russo hosted " Riggins and Russo " on Sundays during the football season . The show was aired on WCBS - TV in New York City , focusing primarily on the Jets ' and Giants ' upcoming games . Since 2006 , Riggins has served as color commentator on Westwood One for the network ' s weekly national radio broadcast of " Sunday Night Football " . On July 18 , 2006 , Triple X ESPN Radio was launched with Riggins hosting " The John Riggins Show " . Riggins could be heard in the Washington , D . C . area weekdays from 4 - 7pm on 94 . 3 FM , 92 . 7 FM & 730 AM , WXGI 950 AM in Richmond , Virginia and WXTG - FM 102 . 1 FM in Virginia Beach , Virginia and WXTG ( AM ) 1490 in Hampton , Virginia . The last show of the series aired on its second anniversary , July 18 , 2008 . With the merger of Triple X into WTEM to form " ESPN 980 " , Riggins ' afternoon show was replaced by WTEM ' s afternoon drive show , " The Sports Reporters " . Riggins stayed with ESPN 980 as a commentator at large . On January 3 , 2008 , Riggins co - hosted the 74th Orange Bowl pre - game show . That same night , the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 24 – 21 . It came 39 years after Riggins and the Jayhawks last played in the game in 1969 . He offered congratulations to his Alma Mater in his closing comments , saying " The KU ship ' s been out at sea since ' 48 . It finally came to port tonight ! " In September 2008 it was announced that Riggins would co - host the program " Sirius Blitz " with Adam Schein on Satellite Radio Stations Sirius 124 and XM 105 . Following his involvement with " Sirius Blitz " Riggins began hosting his own show , The John Riggins Show , which simulcasts on television and radio on MASN - TV and WTOP - HD3 , which airs each weekday afternoon . Riggins has been critical on his radio shows of the current management of the Washington Redskins under owner Dan Snyder . Previously , he had been a panelist on " Redskins Report " until that show was canceled in December 2008 due to budget cuts . Honors . On October 21 , 1990 , Riggins and Joe Theismann were inducted into the Redskins ' Ring of Fame . As Riggins ' name was called , he ran onto the field in full Redskins uniform , including pads , and was received by the crowd at RFK Stadium with thunderous applause . Riggins later explained that he " just had to hear < nowiki > [ < / nowiki > the roar of the crowd < nowiki > ] < / nowiki > one more time " . In 1992 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . On October 13 , 2007 , Riggins was inducted into the University of Kansas ' Ring of Honor at Memorial Stadium . Personal . Riggins has been married twice and has six children . He now resides in Cabin John , Maryland near the Potomac River with his current wife Lisa Marie . It was at the 1985 National Press Club ' s Salute to Congress at 529 14th Street NW in Washington D . C . that Riggins drunkenly told Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O ' Connor to " loosen up Sandy baby " because she was " too tight " when the two met at dinner . Riggins then fell asleep under the table . The incident created a national stir . The next time Ms O ' Connor and John Riggins met at a function years later , she gave him a dozen roses .