Gerald Antonio Riggs (born November 6, 1960) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL) for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

from 1982 to 1988 and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

from 1989 to 1991. Before his NFL career, he attended

Bonanza High School Bonanza High School is a high school in the Las Vegas Valley. It was built in the 1970s and was the ninth high school to open in the area. History Bonanza opened in 1976, and is built in the same configuration as Eldorado High School, Basic Hi ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

Riggs' High School information
/ref> and after graduation attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

. He played sparingly in 1978, running for 410 yards and four touchdowns along with 10 catches for 126 yards. In 1979, he ran for 363 yards with three touchdowns and 14 catches for 120 yards and one touchdown. In 1980, he continued in a backup role and ran for 422 yards with four touchdowns with 15 catches for 165 yards. As a starter in 1981, he ran for 891 yards with six touchdowns and an average of six yards per carry, while also recording 11 catches for 139 yards in 11 games. He would close out his collegiate career with 2,086 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground and 50 catches for 550 yards. In the 1982 NFL draft, he was selected with the 9th overall pick by Atlanta. Riggs made the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

three times in his career from 1985 to 1987. His best season was in 1985, when he rushed for 1,719 yards and ten touchdowns, while also catching 33 passes for 267 yards, all without a fumble. He was the only running back in the 1980s to record a 1,000 yard rushing season without a fumble. In the three seasons from 1984 to 1986, Riggs amassed a whopping 5,212 combined rushing and receiving yards, and scored 32 touchdowns. In his seven years with the Falcons, he rushed for 6,631 yards, making him the franchise all-time leading rusher. Prior to the 1989 season, Riggs was traded to the Washington Redskins. In his final year of 1991, Riggs rushed for 248 yards and 11 touchdowns, assisting his team to a 14–2 record. He is the only player to rush for 11 touchdowns in fewer than 80 attempts in a single season. He went on to rush for four touchdowns in Washington's two playoff games, and two touchdowns in Washington's 37–24 win over the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

Super Bowl XXVI Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

; it was the last game he played in. His six touchdowns in the postseason tied an NFL record. Riggs finished his 10 NFL seasons with 8,188 rushing yards and 69 touchdowns, along with 201 receptions for 1,516 yards. He is the father of Gerald Riggs, Jr., former running back at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

, who played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, and

Cody Riggs Cody Tyler Riggs (born December 30, 1991) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Florida and Notre Dame. High school career Riggs attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was pr ...

, a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

References

External links

Gerald Riggs career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Gerald 1960 births Living people American football running backs Arizona State Sun Devils football players Atlanta Falcons players Washington Redskins players National Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Las Vegas Players of American football from Nevada