DM You won the Lombardi Trophy in 1972. How did you find out that you won?
RG My Junior year I was up for it too. Myself, Larry Jacobson, Walt Patulski of Notre Dame won it then. We were all invited to Houston for a couple of days. They had a big banquet and then they announced the winner. Coming out of high school I wanted to be the best lineman. I was voted the best and it helped me get recruited. Again, I wanted to be the best lineman in college so in my Senior year I set my goals to be the best lineman in college football. Winning that award made it come true.
DM You also won the Outland Trophy?
RG Coach Devaney called me to the football office. I thought “Oh God. What did I do now?” He said “You won the Outland Trophy. We’ll see you at practice.” That’s how I got my Outland Trophy.
DM That’s a similar story to Larry Jacobson’s. He said his was presented at half time of a basketball game.
RG They didn’t have a banquet back then. The only banquets were the Vince Lombardi Award and the Heisman Trophy. The Outland didn’t have a banquet. Right now I have the first one, a plaque, and the trophy. They give everyone a trophy with a man on a stand and bring us back to be part of the Outland ceremony which is in Omaha every year.
During my career I got to meet three Presidents. Ronald Reagan was Governor of California and was at the Lombardi Award and he introduced me to George Herbert Walker Bush who at that time was the head of the CIA at the same dinner and I met President Nixon when the team went to the White House.
DM You had your jersey #79 retired in 2005. What do you remember about the retirement ceremony?
RG I don’t remember too much about that. Right now it’s not retired. An offensive guy is wearing #79. They should give it to a defensive guy who can stand up and represent defense.
DM What was the transition like going from Nebraska to the New York Giants?
RG Now it’s more of a job. In college it was fun, you got a good education and going to the Giants was great because I grew up in the area watching the Giants. It was exciting plus they played their games at Yankee Stadium. We played preseason games in Yankee Stadium and regular season games at the Yale Bowl and we practiced right here in Jersey City where I played my high school football. That was pretty cool. Practicing for the Giants where I used to play high school football. It was great. Larry Jacobson was on the team. We had a good team but pro football as you know is Not For Long. They had the player strike. Then the coach got fired. Like they say. It’s nothing personal. It’s business. For me pro ball was great. I enjoyed it all but you have to be at the right place at the right time.
DM Do you still stay in touch with teammates you played with?
RG Some of them I do. I try to stay in touch with as many guys as possible. I reach out to them and they reach out to me. Daryl (White) and I are always talking. I talk to Johnny (Rodgers) every now and then. Larry (Jacobson), I have his number.
DM What are you doing now? I understand that you do some coaching and that you have a foundation. Tell us about your foundation.
RG The foundation is called “All Access to Life”. This is our thirteenth year. We started in 2004. It started when my friend Dusty Baker who coaches in professional baseball got me an “All Access” pass to a game where you could go anywhere in the club house or on the field. I said to myself “You know what. I want the local kids to have all access to life. You can go wherever you want to go as long as you take care of your business and keep your nose clean.” I started the All Access to Life Foundation with a football camp. It is a free camp. Most camps you have to pay. The city helped me out at first with t-shirts and food and the kids come out for a week for three hours a day working on the basic fundamentals of football. We got incorporated with our 501c. We don’t just do football. We do life skills and academics. Work with the kids after school at the center. We do arts and different things and at the holidays we help out serving food. Our goal is to provide all access to do whatever you want to do as long as you do it the right way. The Foundation is not just me and my wife. My son (Rich, Jr.) helps out. My sister is a board member. Daryl White is a board member. We do things in the community to help out and give back.
DM Are there any comments you would like to add about your playing days at Nebraska that I didn’t ask?
RG I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a very positive experience. The coaches we had were great coaches. The players we had on the team were great players. Everybody came out. We played hard. The fans were great. They cheered. The time we came back from the Oklahoma game in 1971 when we beat them in the Game of the Century we couldn’t land the plane because people were on the runway. They had to move them off the runway so we could get the plane in. Once we got the plane in they swooped in right up to the plane. We couldn’t get off the plane and onto the bus. People were lined up along the street just cheering us. There is nothing like Nebraska football. People that have never been and never seen it don’t know how it is. That song they play. There’s nothing like it.
DM You’re right. There is no place like Nebraska. Thanks for sharing your Husker memories with us.
For information about Richard’s Foundation All Access to Life go to this link . Here is the donation page.
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