Paul Wiggin

Athletics

Paul Wiggin was born in Lathrop on Nov. 11, 1934. He competed in four sports as a Buffalo and was named the Most Outstanding Athlete when he graduated from Manteca High in 1952.

He earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford in 1956 and his masters in education from Stanford in 1959. He was a three-year starter at tackle for Stanford and earned first time All-Pac-10 and All-America honors in 1955 and 1956. He also played rugby for the Cardinals.

The Cleveland Browns picked Wiggin in the sixth round of the 1956 draft. In 11 seasons with the Browns (1957-67), Wiggin never missed a game, playing in 146 straight regular-season games, which stood as a team record when he retired. His 18 career fumble recoveries still rank as the second highest in Browns history. During his tenure there, Cleveland played in three NFL title games. He started in the Pro Bowl in 1965 and 1967.

From 1980-83, Wiggin was the head Stanford University football coach after serving in 1978-79 as the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. His first head coaching opportunity in the NFL was from 1975-77 at the helm of the Kansas City Chiefs. Immediately after his playing career ended in 1968, Wiggin was hired as the San Francisco 49'ers line coach and was part of the staff that guided the 49'ers to three straight NFL division titles from 1970-72. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1974.

Wiggin worked with the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in 1984 before joining the Minnesota Vikings as defense coach in 1985, a position he held for seven seasons. He was named to his current job as Vikings Assistant General Manager for Pro Personnel in 1992.