Thomas Dudley Riggs (January 28, 1875 – May 22, 1913) was an All-American football player. He played for

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and was selected as an All-American in 1895.

Early years

Riggs was the son of Lawrason Riggs, a well-known banker of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. The family had founded and operated

Riggs Bank Riggs Bank was a bank headquartered in Washington, D.C. For most of its history, it was the largest bank headquartered in that city. On May 13, 2005, after the exposure of several money laundering scandals, the bank was acquired by PNC Financia ...

, which financed

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

's invention of the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

in 1845 and lent $16 million to the United States to fund the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. Riggs received his elementary training in a Baltimore private school and later attended St. Paul's School, a private preparatory school in Concord, New Hampshire.

All-American football player at Princeton

After completing his studies at St. Paul's, Riggs enrolled at Princeton University. He followed his older brother,

Jesse Riggs Jesse Bright Riggs (February 3, 1870 – March 9, 1945) was an All-American football player. Riggs played for the Princeton University football team from 1888 to 1891. He was an All-American in 1890 and captain of the 1891 Princeton footbal ...

, to Princeton. Jesse had been an All-American for Princeton's football team, and Dudley followed in his older brother's footsteps by joining the Princeton football team. In September 1893, a newspaper account compared Dudley to his older brother:

Another new man that gives much promise is a brother of the great Jesse Riggs, '92. This one's name is Dudley and he weighs 185 pounds -- not bad to begin with. It is said he is another Jesse, built like him, a football fighter of his spirit and just as tricky as the big guard ...

By 1895, Riggs weighed 211 pounds and was 6-feet, 1-inch in height. He played center for Princeton's varsity football team in 1894 and left guard in 1895. At the end of the 1895 season, Riggs was selected as an All-American. He graduated from Princeton with a Bachelor of Science degree as part of the class of 1897.

Later years

After graduating from Princeton, Riggs married Miss Laura Lanman, of Hartford, Connecticut, and the couple traveled to Scotland for their honeymoon. Riggs and his wife had three children, T. Dudley Riggs Jr., Elizabeth Riggs and Mary Lawrason Riggs. He was active in Baltimore's clubs. He was a member of the Baltimore and Pimlico Country Clubs the Baltimore Hunt Club, and the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club. He was also active in the Masonic organization, and the president of the Paint and Powder Club. Riggs was a friend of

John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...

, and the two were observed by reporters traveling to Philadelphia in 1907 in a new 60–

Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 19 ...

limousine. Riggs was also a breeder of horses, beagles and other hunting dogs. His beagle, Nordley Ben, was entered in contests throughout the country. Riggs was also an officer of the National Beagle Club of America. Riggs and his family lived for many years on a estate in Stevenson, Maryland, in Green Spring Valley. The estate included a large home, stables, and several outbuildings. In 1907, Riggs sold his Maryland estate for $50,000 and moved to Hartford, Connecticut, to engage in business. Three years later, in 1910, Riggs purchased several acres in the Brooklandwood section of Green Spring Valley. Riggs died in 1913 at

, aged 38. He died of

pemphigus Pemphigus ( or ) is a rare group of blistering autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes. The name is derived from the Greek root ''pemphix'', meaning "pustule". In pemphigus, autoantibodies form against desmoglein, whi ...

, a disease usually found in cattle and commonly known as "foot and mouth disease." Riggs was a horse breeder and was believed to have contracted the disease in the stables of his country home in the Green Springs Valley. Riggs was survived by his wife and children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Dudley 19th-century players of American football Princeton Tigers football players All-American college football players American football guards 1875 births 1913 deaths

Early years

All-American football player at Princeton

Later years

See also

References