Jon Ritchie

Infobox NFLretired


|caption=
position=Fullback
number=40, 48
birthdate=birth date and age|1974|9|04
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
debutyear=1998
finalyear=2004
draftyear=1998
draftround=3
draftpick=63
college=Stanford
teams=
* Oakland Raiders (1998-2002)
* Philadelphia Eagles (2003-2004)
stat1label=Receptions
stat1value=150
stat2label=Total Yards
stat2value=1,184
stat3label=Touchdowns
stat3value=7
nfl=RIT566472

Jon David Ritchie (born September 4, 1974 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania) is a former professional American football fullback in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders.

Early years

Jon Ritchie attended Cumberland Valley High School from 1989-1993. His mother was an English teacher in the district, and he has always been beloved in his hometown. He led his high school football team to the state championship in 1992. The team won the game, the only state championship the school has ever earned.

Upon graduation, he attended the University of Michigan as a freshman and sophomore. At Michigan, he played as a true freshman. During his career at the University of Michigan, he rushed for 120 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards. Then in 1995 he transferred to Stanford University where he played as a junior and senior. At Stanford, he first started as an inside linebacker, but switched to fullback. He rushed 17 times for 95 yards and received 9 passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

NFL

Ritchie was drafted 63rd, at the top of the third round, in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Upon his arrival to the NFL, he started for the Raiders for five seasons. His final season with the Raiders he started in Super Bowl XXXVII where Oakland lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In 2003 Ritchie left the Raiders and signed to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. He again played in a Super Bowl where the Eagles lost to the New England Patriots by three (24-21). After starting for the Eagles for only two seasons, he was cut by the Eagles after a devastating knee injury during the off-season that could not be fully repaired.

During his career Ritchie did not see a lot of carries. He was however one of the best blocking fullbacks in the game and a large threat in the passing game. Throughout his entire career he put up big numbers in receiving (for a fullback).

Career Stats

Post NFL, back at CV

Jon retired from the NFL in 2006, and is now an announcer for NFL Europe games. He is also doing analyst work with CN8 for college games. And, he does NFL commentary for the local ABC station, WHTM-TV. He has moved back to his hometown of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania where he helps coach the varsity football team of which he played on, the Cumberland Valley Eagles. In the high school's large auditorium, he spoke at the baccalaureate for the class of 2005 and the class of 2008. He remains a constant role model to students and athletes there.

Video Game Appearance

* In the game NFL Street 2 Jon Ritchie often appears as the starting running back for the Philadelphia Eagles instead of Brian Westbrook due to a high blocking rating.

* He was featured in Madden NFL 1998-2005, where he was consistently one of the top ranked fullbacks in the game.

Trivia

* Jon is notorious, and perhaps most famous, for constantly bleeding from the forehead. This is because he had calcium deposits in his forehead which almost resembled small horns. This caused him to bleed so much he had a special helmet designed for him. Fact|date=February 2007 This was confirmed in July 2008 in a personal interview with Jon at a football camp he runs for children in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

* Ritchie is one of two players from Stanford to be drafted by the Raiders at pick 63 in the NFL Draft. The other is Teyo Johnson

* Jon enjoys playing bass, and one time was called onto the stage to play bass during a Green Day song at a performance in Philadelphia.

* Ritchie sang and played guitar in his band called Jon Ritchie's Fault. They played a few local bars in Philadelphia and performed on "Lou Tilley's Sports Connection".