Wikipedia

Jon Ritchie

For other people named John Ritchie, see John Ritchie (disambiguation).

Jon David Ritchie (born September 4, 1974) is an American former professional football fullback and current sports radio host who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Michigan for two seasons before transferring to Stanford, and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft. He spent five seasons with the Raiders before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003, where he spent two seasons before retiring in 2006. Despite only 15 rushing attempts in his NFL career, Ritchie built a reputation with his blue-collar work ethic and was considered one of the best blocking fullbacks in the league.[1]

Jon Ritchie
refer to caption
Ritchie in 2019
No. 40, 48
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1974-09-04) September 4, 1974 (age 50)
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:Cumberland Valley
(Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania)
College:
NFL draft:1998 / round: 3 / pick: 63
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:36
Rushing average:2.4
Receptions:150
Receiving yards:1,148
Receiving touchdowns:7
Stats at Pro Football Reference

After retiring from football, Ritchie entered a career in media. He has previously appeared as a contributor for ESPN and the NBC Sports Network. From 2013 to 2014, he co-hosted The Artie Lange Show alongside comedian Artie Lange. Since 2016, he has served as a co-host alongside Joe DeCamara on 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia.

Early life

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Ritchie attended Cumberland Valley High School near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, from 1989 to 1993. He led his high school football team to the state championship in 1992, and in 1993, he won the John Travers Award, which honors the top high school student athletes in Central Pennsylvania.[2]

College career

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Coming out of high school, Ritchie was considered the best fullback recruit in the nation. A Pennsylvania native, Ritchie was recruited aggressively by Penn State, however, he ultimately chose to play for Michigan.[3]

Ritchie played for two seasons at Michigan, where he rushed for 120 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards. In 1995, he transferred to Stanford, where he originally played as an inside linebacker, but switched back to fullback. As a fullback, he rushed 17 times for 95 yards and caught nine passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns. He is a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.[4]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump
6 ft 1+4⁄5 in
(1.87 m) 		248 lb
(112 kg) 		31+9⁄10 in
(0.81 m) 		10+1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		 4.66 s 1.61 s 2.65 s 4.09 s 31 in
(0.79 m)
All values from NFL Combine[5]

Oakland Raiders (1998–2002)

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Ritchie was drafted in the third round (63rd overall) of the 1998 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders.[6] He started for the Raiders for five seasons, and established himself as a top blocking fullback. With Ritchie as fullback, Raiders running back Charlie Garner posted three seasons of more than 1,700 yards from scrimmage after rushing for just 381 yards the year before he joined Oakland. In 2002, the Raiders led the league in total yardage, en route to an AFC championship win. In Super Bowl XXXVII, Ritchie caught one pass for seven yards in a 48–21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Philadelphia Eagles (2003–2004)

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In 2003, Ritchie signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He had expressed an interest in playing closer to his hometown, which was just 90 miles west of Philadelphia, so his friends and family could watch and attend his games.[7] In 2003, Ritchie helped the Eagles running back tandem of Brian Westbrook, Duce Staley, and Correll Buckhalter, along with quarterback Donovan McNabb, rush for a total of 2,015 yards and 23 touchdowns. Ritchie himself also scored three touchdown receptions during the season.[8]

Three games into the 2004 season, Ritchie tore his anterior cruciate ligament while covering a punt in a game against the Detroit Lions, abruptly ending his season.[9] He re-signed with the Eagles on a one-year contract for the 2005 season while recovering from his injury, and although he was expected to be the starting fullback for the team once recovered, he was released by the Eagles at the end of training camp, a move that he described as a "complete and total shock".[7][10] He announced his retirement from football prior to the 2006 season.

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP Rushing Receiving Fumbles
Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Fum Lost
1998 OAK 15 9 23 2.6 0 29 225 7.8 0 2 1
1999 OAK 16 5 12 2.4 0 45 408 9.1 1 0 0
2000 OAK 13 0 0 0.0 0 26 173 6.7 0 0 0
2001 OAK 15 0 0 0.0 0 19 154 8.1 2 0 0
2002 OAK 16 0 0 0.0 0 10 66 6.6 1 1 0
2003 PHI 16 1 0 1.0 0 17 86 5.1 3 0 0
2004 PHI 3 0 0 0.0 0 4 36 9.0 0 0 0
Total 94 15 36 2.4 0 150 1,148 7.7 7 3 1

Postseason

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Year Team GP Rushing Receiving Fumbles
Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Fum Lost
2000 OAK 1 0 0 0.0 0 1 5 5.0 0 0 0
2001 OAK 2 0 0 0.0 0 1 11 11.0 0 0 0
2002 OAK 3 0 0 0.0 0 3 35 11.7 0 0 0
2003 PHI 2 0 0 0.0 0 1 1 1.0 0 0 0
2004 PHI Did not play due to injury
Total 8 0 0 0.0 0 6 52 8.7 0 0 0

Media career

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After his retirement from football, Ritchie began working as a color commentator for NFL Europe games broadcast on NFL Network, and did NFL commentary for his local ABC affiliate WHTM-TV.[11] He also served as an analyst on CN8 for college football games.[11]

Ritchie appeared as a contributor for various shows on ESPN, including First Take, NFL 32, Outside the Lines, and College Football Overdrive.[11] In September 2010, he started hosting a college football Saturday edition of SportsNation with Michelle Beadle.

In 2013, he became a co-host on the nationally syndicated, late-night radio program The Artie Lange Show, hosted by comedian Artie Lange. The show was cancelled on April 28, 2014.[11]

Ritchie then worked as an on-air personality and analyst for NBCSN's Fantasy Football Live on Thursdays and DirecTV's Fantasy Zone Channel on Sundays.[11] He was also a contributor for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia's regional NFL coverage and NBC Sports Radio's NFL coverage.[11]

In 2016, Ritchie joined 94.1 WIP, where he was paired with Joe DeCamara as a co-host of the station's midday show. In 2023, DeCamara and Ritchie moved to the morning drive timeslot and joined Rhea Hughes, Devan Kaney, James Seltzer, and Joe Weachter for a new morning show following the retirement of longtime host Angelo Cataldi.[11]

Other ventures

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2016 State Senate campaign

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In February 2016, Ritchie that he would run for the Pennsylvania State Senate to replace the retiring Pat Vance in Pennsylvania's 31st State Senate District. His campaign policies included lowering taxes, fighting for pension reform, and helping to revitalize Pennsylvania's education system.[12] In a four-way race for the Republican nomination, Ritchie finished second to Mike Regan, receiving roughly 30% of the vote.[13] Despite this, Ritchie would actually win the Democratic nomination by write-in votes, but ultimately decided not to run in the general election against Regan.[14][15][16][17]

Personal life

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After retiring from the NFL, Ritchie moved back to his hometown of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where he helped coach the high school football team for which he played, the Cumberland Valley Eagles. He spoke at the commencement for the high school's class of 2005 and class of 2008.

On February 8, 2018, shortly after the Eagles' Super Bowl LII championship parade, Ritchie was involved in a car accident on I-95 near the Philadelphia International Airport. He was arrested on charges of driving under the influence (DUI), simple assault, and reckless endangerment. However, the charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment were dropped at the beginning of the case, and the DUI charge was dropped on May 23, 2018, as Ritchie's counsel proved he was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police without probable cause. Ritchie had the dropped charges further expunged in July 2018.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ Battista, Judy (January 24, 2003). "PRO FOOTBALL; Raiders' Ritchie Is a Studied Breath of Fresh Air". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Stallsmith, Shelly (May 2, 2013). "Who has won the John Travers Award in the past? See the complete list". pennlive. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "A different ballgame". Daily Collegian. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  4. ^ The Rainbow, vol. 132, no. 2, p. 14,
  5. ^ "Jon Ritchie NFL Combine Stats". NFL Combine Results.
  6. ^ "1998 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Where Are They Now? FB Jon Ritchie". www.philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "2003 Philadelphia Eagles Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "Eagles half-empty at fullback: Ritchie out for '04". ESPN.com. September 27, 2004. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  10. ^ Porter, Andrew (July 16, 2014). "Jon Ritchie Tells Story Of How He "Cried Uncontrollably" When Cut By Andy Reid - CBS Philadelphia". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "WIP TO MOVE JOE DECAMARA AND JON RITCHIE TO MORNINGS FOLLOWING ANGELO CATALDI'S RETIREMENT". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  12. ^ "Ritchie 4 Senate". Archived from the original on December 18, 2015.
  13. ^ Bunn, Rachel (April 27, 2016). "State rep wins over former NFL player in 31st Senate District race". pennlive. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  14. ^ Ahearn, Cale (May 5, 2016). "Jon Ritchie may end up on Democratic ticket this fall". fox43.com. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Bunn, Rachel (May 7, 2016). "Jon Ritchie adds to his write-in total with 127 votes in York County". pennlive. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  16. ^ Owens, Dennis (August 10, 2016). "Ritchie withdraws, Democrats looking for Senate candidate". ABC 27 WHTM.
  17. ^ Owens, Dennis (August 11, 2016). "Ritchie talks politics after ending Senate race". ABC 27 WHTM.
  18. ^ Marroni, Steve (July 24, 2018). "With DUI charges dropped after Super Bowl parade crash, ex-Eagle wants to clear his name". pennlive. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  19. ^ Gallen, Daniel (July 26, 2018). "Ex-Eagle Jon Ritchie wants to 'put everything behind him' after getting record cleared: attorney". pennlive. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
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