The Best John Riggins Cards
John Riggins is one of the toughest runners in league history. If you needed one yard, he was your man. He was also a player you could count on to shoulder a superhuman amount of touches – as evidenced by his league-record 1982 playoff run in which he rushed 136 times for 610 yards and four touchdowns. Riggins was a rhino that resided in Washington D.C., and was allowed to lower his shoulder and run wild on Sundays.
Below, we look back at Diesel’s classic Topps Football cards and his first from Topps in nearly a decade – pulled from 2024 Topps Composite Football. Here’s to one of football’s greatest tough guys – cheers, Riggo!
The Best John Riggins Football Cards
1984 Topps Football Record Breaker #5 John Riggins
Player info
• second player ever to rush for 100 tds
• Oldest player to rush for three touchdowns in a game: 36 years, 70 days
set info
• 396 card set featuring offensive and defensive team leaders
Player quote
• “We liked our chances with John Riggins against any safety in the league.” – Washington o-line coach Joe Bugel
2023 Topps Composite Football #447 Allen & Ginter John Riggins /250
Player info
• 1983 and ’84 league rushing td leader
• 1982 league championship mvp
set info
• 450 card base set broken into multiple iconic topps brands such as allen & Ginter, heritage, midnight, and more
card back
• a look back at Riggins’ hard-hitting career in which the more carries he got, the more seemingly unstoppable he was – culminating in five 1000-yard rushing seasons
1983 Topps Football Record Breaker #8 John Riggins
Player info
• His 610 rushing yards and 625 total yards in the 1982 playoffs are still a league record to this day
• Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 1992
set info
• 396 card set featuring season stat leaders, record breakers, conference championships, and league championship subsets
What they said
• “Joe, get me the ball. I’m your guy.” – John Riggins
1984 Topps Football Instant Replay #389 John Riggins
Player info
• 1983 rushing touchdown leader
• career-high 375 rushing attempts in 1983
set info
• 396 card set
• featuring league championship, conference leader, and instant replay subsets
What they said
• “I was obviously holding my breath on that one. I’ll always remember it. “Fake Zoom,” so Clint Didier would fake across and come back. Our signal for it was “70 Chip.” – Joe Gibbs on the legendary 4th and 1 Riggins touchdown run to seal the 1982 championship
1972 Topps Football #13 John Riggins RC
Player info
• holds the league record for the oldest player to rush for over 1,000 yards (35 years OLD)
• as a rookie, became the first player in team history to lead the team in both rushing and receiving
set info
• 351 card set
• features four subsets: conference leaders, playoffs, all-pro, and pro action
Card back
• a brief recap of his team-leading rushing performance as a rookie and a look back at his college years at Kansas where he broke gale Sayers’ school rushing record with 2,659 yards (now ranks fifth all-time in school history)
