Richie Lucas
Richard John Lucas is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Penn State [Nittany Lions football|Penn State Nittany Lions], winning the Maxwell Award in 1959. His coach Rip Engle described him as "the modern version of the old triple-threat player" because of his passing, running, and punting skills, in addition to his defensive prowess.
Early life
Lucas was born in Glassport, Pennsylvania. At Glassport High School, he was a multi-sport athlete, competing in football, basketball, baseball, and volleyball. Lucas was most successful in football, receiving offers from Cincinnati, North Carolina State, Pitt, and Miami. He also garnered interest from Penn State after legendary coach Joe Paterno noticed his skill while scouting another quarterback. Ultimately, Lucas ended up accepting a scholarship to play at Penn State.College career
As a freshman, Lucas was ineligible to play football because at the time, all players had to sit out their freshman year.1957 season
In his sophomore season, Lucas opened as the second-string quarterback behind Al Jacks. After Jacks dislocated his shoulder during a game versus rival Syracuse, Lucas stepped in for the Nittany Lions. Shortly after, Lucas ran a play where he faked handing the ball to the fullback Babe Caprara, simultaneously fooling the cameraman into thinking Caprara had the ball, then rolled out to his right and threw a touchdown pass to Les Walters that sealed the game with a score of 20-12. From then on, Penn State relied on Lucas to make plays for the Nittany Lions. In 9 games, he completed 45.8% of his passes for 428 yards, 4 TDs and 4 INTs, as well as 66 yards and 1 TD rushing.Nicknamed "Riverboat Richie" due to his gambling instincts when calling plays, Lucas won the Maxwell Award in 1959.