Dudley Riggs (American football)
 Dudley Riggs, 1894 Mayo's Cut Plug card | |
| Princeton Tigers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Class | Graduate |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | January 28, 1875 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died: | May 22, 1913 (aged 38) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Career history | |
| College | Princeton (1895) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Thomas Dudley Riggs (January 28, 1875 – May 22, 1913) was an All-American football player. He played for Princeton University and was selected as an All-American in 1895.
Early years[edit]
Riggs was the son of Lawrason Riggs, a well-known banker of Baltimore, Maryland. The family had founded and operated Riggs Bank, which financed Samuel Morse's invention of the telegraph in 1845 and lent $16 million to the United States to fund the Mexican–American War. 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.[1]
All-American football player at Princeton[edit]
After completing his studies at St. Paul's, Riggs enrolled at Princeton University. He followed his older brother, Jesse Riggs, 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 ...[2]
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.[3] 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[edit]
After graduating from Princeton, Riggs married Miss Laura Lanman, of Hartford, Connecticut, and the couple traveled to Scotland for their honeymoon.[1] Riggs and his wife had three children, T. Dudley Riggs Jr., Elizabeth Riggs and Mary Lawrason Riggs.[4]
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,[1] and the president of the Paint and Powder Club.[5] Riggs was a friend of John D. Rockefeller Jr., and the two were observed by reporters traveling to Philadelphia in 1907 in a new 60–65 horsepower (48 kW) Isotta Fraschini limousine.[6]
Riggs was also a breeder of horses, beagles and other hunting dogs. His beagle, Nordley Ben, was entered in contests throughout the country.[7][8] Riggs was also an officer of the National Beagle Club of America.[9]
Riggs and his family lived for many years on a 150-acre (0.61 km2) 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.[1] Three years later, in 1910, Riggs purchased several acres in the Brooklandwood section of Green Spring Valley.[10]
Riggs died in 1913 at Baltimore, Maryland, aged 38. He died of pemphigus, a disease usually found in cattle and commonly known as "foot and mouth disease."[4] 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.[11] Riggs was survived by his wife and children.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "In Realty And Building Field: Nordley Farm, Green Spring Valley, Sold; T. Dudley Riggs Sells Handsome Property to W. Irvine Cross". Baltimore American. January 15, 1907.
- ^ "A Strong Centre for Princeton: Bright Outlook for a Winning Football Team at Old Nassau This Fall". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Newport, Rhode Island. September 17, 1893. p. 2. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Yale is Triumphant: Wins Its Eleventh Football Game from Princeton; Score of 20 to 10". Daily Inter Ocean. November 24, 1895. p. 1. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "T. Dudley Riggs Dead". The Baltimore Sun. May 22, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Seats For "1492" Sold At Auction: Society Attends Sale At Hotel Belvedere; Mr. T. Dudley Riggs, Ex-President of the Paint Powder Club, Acts as Auctioneer". Baltimore American. April 2, 1911.
- ^ "News and Gossip About the Automobiles Along Gasoline Row". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 12, 1907. p. 14. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Beagle Trial Results: Mr. T. Dudley Riggs' Dogs Failed to Win in Events of New England Club". Baltimore American. November 14, 1906.
- ^ "Beagle Trials Open: Dudley Riggs, of This City, Represented in National Events". Baltimore American. November 6, 1909.
- ^ "Beagle Club Officers T. Dudley Riggs, of Baltimore, as Chosen Third Vice President". Baltimore American. November 16, 1910.
- ^ "untitled". Baltimore American. October 21, 1910.
- ^ "Dies of Cattle Disease". The Indianapolis Star. May 23, 1913. p. 10. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.