Bill Text: VA HJR267 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Jim 'Coach' Riggs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-02-03 - House: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ267ER) [HJR267 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2012-HJR267-Introduced.html
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12104302D WHEREAS, Jim "Coach" Riggs, who guided the Appalachia High School football team to its first Virginia High School League Group A championship in 1971, died on January 14, 2012; and WHEREAS, as coach of the Wise County Appalachia Bulldogs from 1960 to 1972, Coach Riggs amassed a record of 101 wins, 25 losses, and 6 ties; during his time as coach he was known for producing talented blockers and tacklers, and he gained a reputation for excellent line coaching; and WHEREAS, during his tenure, the Appalachia Bulldogs were a strong and forceful presence on the gridiron; one of Coach Riggs' tactics that helped produce that series of fearsome teams was to hold full-contact practices on gravel parking lots; he also coached the first desegregated teams at Appalachia; and WHEREAS, Coach Riggs was a star football player in his youth; he played for Milligan College and is a member of the school's Athletics Hall of Fame; it was at Milligan that he first developed the tactics and strategies that he used to create a winning football program at Appalachia High School; and WHEREAS, one of Coach Riggs' players, Edd Clark, was named to the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame, and another player, Tom Turner, who eventually succeeded his former coach, guided the Bulldogs to five more state championships; and WHEREAS, in recognition of his coaching talents and his ability to mold young men into a formidable force on the field, the football stadium at Appalachia High School was renamed in his honor; Coach Riggs stopped coaching in 1972 to become the school's assistant principal; and WHEREAS, Coach Riggs also was known for his unique and colorful sense of humor, which was a source of entertainment and amusement to his many friends; it was a great contrast to his reputation as a taskmaster on the gridiron; and WHEREAS, the family and many friends of Coach Riggs deeply mourn his passing, and the men who were members of the teams that he coached remember with deep respect the lessons that he imparted to them; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of an esteemed leader and football coaching legend, Jim "Coach" Riggs; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Jim "Coach" Riggs as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory. |
