Richard Allen Wingo (born July 16, 1956) is an American Republican politician and a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played five seasons for the Green Bay Packers from 1979 to 1984. He was drafted by the Packers in the seventh round of the 1979 NFL Draft out of the University of Alabama.
He was a part of one of the most famous plays in college football history, "The Goal Line Stand" in Alabama's Sugar Bowl victory over Penn State in 1979.[1] He played for college coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. From Pee Wee football through high school, he led every team he played for in tackles.[citation needed]
Wingo is the only player in Packers history to have a scoring total of 1 point. On September 6, 1981, against the Chicago Bears, he caught a pass in the end zone for a successful point-after-touchdown after a botched place-kick attempt. (At the time, either a successful place-kick or advancing the ball into the end zone both counted for one point.)
Wingo served as strength coach at Alabama under former head coach Bill Curry.[2]
In 2014 Wingo ran for a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives, winning the general election in November.[3] He was sworn into office in 2015.[4] He served 2 terms, being reelected in 2018.
References
- ^ Casagrande, Michael (June 4, 2014). "Rich Wingo helped famous Tide goal-line stand, now elected to Alabama legislature". AL.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
- ^ Fortuna, Matt (December 27, 2018). "Before landing at Clemson, Dabo Swinney sought an assistant coaching job at Notre Dame". The Athletic. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
- ^ Goodbread, Chase (June 4, 2014). "Former Packers LB Rich Wingo wins Alabama House election". nfl.com. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
- ^ "Rich Wingo". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 8, 2015.