John Rigg was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Economics, later completing a PhD.
He has worked as a research assistant at the University of London, as an economic consultant in London and in the Senior Civil Service in Scotland.
John’s first book on sport – An Ordinary Spectator: 50 Years of Watching Sport -was published in 2012. He followed this with Still An Ordinary Spectator: Five More Years of Watching Sport in 2017. He has also written sport-related articles for Backspin, the Rugby League Journal and (co-authored with Richard Lewney) the International Review of the Sociology of Sport.
His own sporting career principally comprised playing rugby league at primary school, rugby union at secondary school and college, and cricket to a reasonable club standard.
John’s non-sporting articles have included on economics/statistics for the Scottish Economic Bulletin and Scottish Economic Statistics and family history for the Cleveland Family History Society Journal.
John is married with two children and lives in Scotland.
An Ordinary Spectator 