Born in Alameda, California, Rigney batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg). He began his professional baseball career in 1938 when he signed with the unaffiliated Oakland Oaks of the top-level Pacific Coast League. After seasoning in the Class B Western International League, Rigney played the full seasons of 1941–42 with the Oaks, then performed World War II service in the United States Coast Guard from 1943–45.\n', '

Acquired by the Giants during the war, he was a 28-year-old rookie in 1946 and played third base, shortstop and second base during his MLB career—appearing in over 100 games played in each of his first four MLB seasons. Rigney was the Giants\' regular third baseman in 1946 and their starting second baseman in both 1947 and 1948. His most productive season came in 1947, when he reached career highs in home runs (17), RBI (59), runs (84), hits (142), doubles (24) and games played (130). In 1948, he was selected to the National League All-Star team; in the 1948 midsummer classic, on July 13 at Sportsman\'s Park, St. Louis, he drew a base on balls off Joe Coleman in his only plate appearance. As a utility infielder, Rigney was a member of the 1951 NL champion Giants, and he appeared in four games of the 1951 World Series, collecting one hit in four at bats (a single off Vic Raschi), with an RBI, as a pinch hitter.\n', '

As a big-leaguer, Rigney was a .259 career batsman with 510 hits, 41 home runs and 212 runs batted in 654 games.\n', '

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