Dick Riffle

A triple threat on the football field for Albright College. As a sophomore, Riffle rushed for 221 yards and scored five touchdowns against Muhlenberg College (1936). That day he had touchdown runs of 4, 2, 52 and 61 yards and had a 92-yard kick-off return for a touchdown during a 70-13 win against the Mules in front of a jam- packed crowd at Albright Field on the last day of the season. Dick gained 1,300 yards that season and the Lions posted a 6-1-1 record; Biggie Munn’s last season as head coach before going on to coach at Syracuse and Michigan State universities. Riffle captured the eastern football scoring championship (84 points) on 14 touchdowns and was named to the Little All-American team for the first time (1936). The next season, he played for the legendary coach, Lone Star Dietz, who guided the Lions to an 8-0-1 record. Riffle was named to the Little All-American team again and was also named to the All-Pennsylvania team and finished on the second All-Eastern team (1937). He became the first player from a small college, such as Albright, to be selected for the East-West Shrine game in San Francisco, CA. During his senior season at Albright, he intercepted a pass and returned it 102 yards for a score against City College of New York. In baseball, he was a catcher and played the outfield while at Albright. After graduation, he played in the National Football League for five seasons (1938-42) with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers as a running back. Dick went on to play right field for the Robesonia Pioneers of the Lebanon Valley League and was with manager Yummy Armpriester’s club for a short while. He played in the Lebanon Valley League for more than a decade, mostly with the Adamstown Hatters, and consistently finished in the top-ten in hitting. Riffle was selected to the Albright College All-Century Team (1995).

Deceased