SPORTS
The University Daily KANSAN
September 20,1983 Page 12
Former KU back 'defying the odds' NFL fans won't forget Riggins
By United Press International
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — He won't be remembered as the best running back ever to play at the University of Kansas nor will he be remembered as the best running back ever to play in the National Football League.
John Riggins might not be remembered as the best anything . . . but he certainly won't be forgotten. It's hard to forget a 235-pound running back who has spent 12 years (and counting) slugging it out with defensive linemen tacklers and holding his own quite nicely with almost 8,300 career yards.
Only six NFL running backs have ever rushed for more yards than Riggins and only four have carried the football more times than the 3,008 of the former KU standout, who is considered a star. It would be hard to come out of KU after Gale Sayers.
But Sayers played only seven seasons in the NFL. Bruins fullbacks of the Riggins type like Jim Taylor, Larry Cenka and Leroy Kerry last 10, 11 and 11 seasons respectively. Ruggles will be the midist of his 13th had not "retired" from the Redskins for a year in a contract dispute in 1980.
"JOIN IS DEFENDING the odds right now." Washington Coach Joe Gibbs said of Riggins' longevity. "But he's gifted with a great body and he's one of the best conditioned athletes I've ever been around. He has his own time table for getting ready. He knows what it takes and does it."
The only other player to last longer than Riggins as a starting running back
'I just have the ability to know when and where to draw the line on some of the foolishness I go through.'
—John Riggins,
Washington Redskins
in the NFL was 14-year man Joe "The Jet" Perry. Riggins needs only 152 more yards to move past Perry into six place on the all-time rushing list with 8,739 yards and he'll probably pass Taylor (8,597 yards) as well this season.
THE NEXT LEVEL would be the 10,000-yard plateau, achieved already by Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson, Franco Harris and Walter Patney, and there’s no reason to think Riggins won’t get there, too. His body is still going strong
at 34 years of age — his 75 carries this
the most are by the any NFL,
running back and his 273 yards are
sixth best — and so is his mind.
"I've been told that the older you get the slower you get," said Riggins last week in a rare telephone interview with Kansas City media. "I haven't experienced any of that yet but I don't want to leave any stone unturned.
"I realize what I have to do to get the job done. That doesn't mean I'm a real hard worker. I just have the ability to know when and where to draw the line on some of the foolishness I go through. Other guys came into the league after me and some even had great careers but they aren't around now."
RIGGINS CONSENTED to the rare telephone interview because his Redskins played the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday and the Kansas City area opposes him. His speeches offseasons at his farm near the University of Kansas.
Higgins piled up 84 yards against the Chiefs on the way to a 27-12 comeback victory.
The rare opportunity to watch Riggins play a regular-season game on television may have excited his family and friends but probably not nearly as much as it excited the big fullback to play against the Chiefs.
Former KU standout John Riggins, Washington Redskins running back, is pictured in his playing days as a fayhawk in the late 1960s.
File Photo
Cards rescue player's family from upheaval in Nicaragua
By United Press International
ST. LOUIS — After more than two months of work, the St. Louis Cardinals and Anheuser Busch Inc. said yesterday that they had managed to get the mother and brother of outfielder David Green safely out of Nicaragua.
The Cardinals said Green's mother, Bertha, and 19-year-old brother, Enrique, arrived in St. Louis Sunday.
Green, 22, who was born and raised in Managua, has another brother, Edward, who is thought to be in jail in Nicaragua. Green also has several other relatives still living in the country.
THE CARDINALS sent plane tickets to the Greens and told them to book their own reservations out of the country. The team had to send them a second set of tickets when the first set never arrived. The Greens received the second set of tickets last week.
Green's Average has fallen off to 273 and Manager Whitey Herzog and McDonald think Green's worrying about his family has been largely responsible for his declining performance.
Green, who ran track as a youngster and did not start playing baseball until 1975 at the age of 15, signed his first contract with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1978.
NCAA to examine Proposal 48 further
KANSAS CITY, Mo — The NCAA's Proposal 48, which will set minimum college admissions standards for college athletes, will come under tight scrutiny before it is implemented, an NCAA officer said yesterday.
By United Press International
The National Collegiate Athletic Association bylaw raised the ire of black leaders because of its reliance on standardized testing.
association to commission a study involving all of its Division I members and a sample of the Division II schools.
That taurur, said NCAA vice president Gwendolyn Norrell, prompted the
Each school will be asked to provide data on its general characteristics, profiles of the 1977 and 1982 entering freshman classes, outlines of their athletic programs and information on student-athletes who received grants-in-aid in the fall of 1977 and 1982.
The study, to be completed in August 1984, will determine whether standardized test scores relate to college academic performances.
BY JOHN UNREIN Sports Writer
Breaking pitches fooling KU batters
After continual problems at the plate, the KU baseball team will concentrate this week on the art of hitting the breaking ball, said Marty Pattin, baseball coach for Sunday's double. He split with Johnson County Community College.
The Jayhawks evened their fall season record at 2-2 with a 9-5 victory in Sunday's second game againstobbion县.The Jayhawks lost 41 in the first.
patient with them yet," Pattin said. "They're just free-swinging up there and you can't do that. Sometimes you pull to hit the ball to the opposite field."
"We need to work on breaking balls, because we're seeing a lot of them now, and our hitters haven't learned to be
Pattin said that he was pleased with his team's second game performance, especially with the pitching of starter Justin Bieber and the fact having troubles getting good base hits.
"THE FIRST GAME, we just weren't hitting," Pattin said. "We're going to have to spend a lot of time in batting and practice, because we're not in the groove yet."
KU managed a total of five hits in the first game but failed to put together more than one hit in an innning. Joe Heeney, playing at shortstop rather
Leading off the inning, Heeney beat out an infield single to the shortstop and two pitches later stole second base. A wild pitch to first baseman Phil Doherty sent Heeney to third, and Doherty then sacrificed fly ball that brought him home.
than his usual third base position, scored the Jayhawks' only run of the game in the bottom half of the second.
IN THE SECOND GAME, outfielder John Hart打ed the Jayhawks with two hits and two runs batted in.
KU will play their next doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at Quigley Field, against Northeast Oklahoma and Cloud County Community College. Game times are set for 1 p.m.
KC sweeps Angels behind Sheridan, Slaught
By United Press International
In the first game, Don Slaught's two-run triple highlighted a six-run eighth inning that lifted the Royals to an 8-4 victory.
U. L. Washington opened the ninth in the second game with a walk off at No. 12 and took a role second base. He took third when Butch Davis flew to center for the
second out of the inning and scored the tying run on Wilson's pinch double to right.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pat Sheridan's pinch single scored Willie Wilson from second base and capped a two-run ninth inning and give the Kansas City Royals a 7-6 victory over California last night for a double-header sweep of the Angels.
Bob Lacy replaced McLaughlin, 14, and Sheridan, batting for Leon Roberts, hit a ground ball to first baseman Daryl Scomiers and won the footrace to the bag for an infield single with Wilson. He scored, scoring all the way from second base.
THE ANGELS had taken a 6-14 lead in the seventh when Rick Adams led off with a single, took second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a double by Gary Pettis. Pettis then took third on an error by second baseman Onix Concepcion and came home on a groundout by Juan Beniuzole.
California starter John Curtis with a run in the eighth on a double by Slaught and a single by pinch hitter Frank White and then scored the two runs in the ninth to make a winner out of reliever Mark Haussmann, 2-1.
IN THE OPENER, after Wilson and Washington opened the eighth with walks. Andy Hassler replaced California starter Steve Brown and threw a wild pitch to advance both runners. John Wathan beat out an infield single, scoring Wilson, and shortstop Rick Adams threw wildly to first on the play to allow Washington to cross with the twing run.
Concepción singled home Slaughter for the final run of the inning.
Broken wrist scraps D. Bell for '83 season
By JEFF CRAVENS Associate Sports Editor
Cornerback Dino Bell suffered a broken left wrist in Saturday's Wichita State game and will not play for the team. The coach Mike Gofftried said yesterday.
"It HAPPENED on the first play of the second half," Bell said. "I came up and hit the quarterback and he He fell on it with all of his weight."
Bell, a Huntington Beach, Calif. junior, will now apply for a hardship ruling from the Big Eight. Players may play in three games and still receive an extra year of eligibility in accordance with conference rules.
Bell said an operation to rearrange the bones in his wrist was scheduled for tomorrow.
"That leaves us thin, to put it mildly." Gottfried the sake of the injury. "We may move Clyde Johnson to the team we can help take up some of the slack."
The injury came at an inopportune time for Bell, who would have been one of 10 Jayhawks returning to California to play in front of their home-state fans in KU's game against Southern California this weekend.
"Yeah, it's tough," Bell said. "But you've got to expect it."
THE FIVE OTHER players who were injured in the WSU game with the Mets.
Gottfried said that he was happy with KU's 57-6 victory over WSU Saturday, but also said that the Jayhawks did not perform well in the films as the score might indicate.
"We made a lot of mistakes." Gottfried said "I thought we could have been better. We still have a long way to go."
JAHYAWK NOTES — Place kicker Bruce Kallmyer is currently ranked third in the nation in field goals per game with a 3.33 average and fifth in scoring per game with a 13.7 average. Nebraska I-back Mike Rozier leads the conference in scoring so far this season, outscoring Kallmyer 42-41, according to the Big Eight statistics released yesterday.
Darren Green leads the conference in kickoff and punt returns. Green, who was leading the nation in punt returns, is third in points this week, averaging 17.5 per return.
The KU defense is ranked 16th in the nation against the pass, giving up 122 yards per game.
Big Eight Football Standings
W L T Pts OP
Nebraska 3 0 184 39
Okla St 2 0 47 30
Kansas 1 1 110 57
Missouri 1 1 104 59
Oklahoma 1 1 0 41 38
Colorado 1 1 0 41 38
Kan St 1 2 0 52 62
Iowa St 0 2 0 36 80
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