Archie Mason Griffin(born August 21, 1954) is an American formerfootballrunning backwho played with theCincinnati Bengalsin theNational Football League(NFL) for seven seasons. He playedcollege footballfor theOhio State Buckeyes,and is the only two-timeHeisman Trophywinner inNCAAhistory, 1974–1975, considered one of the greatest college football players of all time.[1]Griffin won fourBig Ten Conferencetitles with the Buckeyes and was the first player to ever start in fourRose Bowls.He was selected in the first round by the Bengals in the1976 NFL draft.
 Griffin in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 45 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | August 21, 1954 Columbus, Ohio,U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Eastmoor (Columbus, Ohio) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Ohio State(1972–1975) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1976/ round: 1 / pick: 24 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Early life
editGriffin rushed for 1,787 yards and scored over 170 points in 11 games, including 29 touchdowns, as a senior fullback atEastmoor High School(now Eastmoor Academy) inColumbus, Ohio.That year, he led Eastmoor to the Columbus City League championship, rushing for 267 yards on 31 carries in the title game againstLinden-McKinley High School.In his junior year, Griffin also rushed for over 1,000 yards.[2]
In 1996, Griffin was inducted into the High School Hall of Fame, with Eastmoor Academy renaming their playing field "Archie Griffin Field" in his honor.[3]
College career
editGriffin played for theOhio State UniversityBuckeyesfrom 1972 to 1975. When he won a starting position his freshman year, many sophomores were disappointed because Griffin took their spot. Former Ohio Statehead coachWoody Hayessaid of Griffin, "He's a better young man than he is a football player, and he's the best football player I've ever seen."[4]
In 1972, Griffin was aT-formationhalfback,and from 1973 through 1975, he was the team'sI-formationtailback.He led the Buckeyes in rushing as a freshman with 867 yards, but his numbers exploded the following year with the team's conversion to the I-formation. He rushed for 1,428 yards in the regular season as a sophomore, 1,620 as a junior, 1,357 as a senior. Griffin was the only back to lead theBig Ten Conferencein rushing for three straight years untilJonathan Taylordid so from 2017 to 2019. Overall, Griffin rushed for 5,589 yards on 924 carries in his four seasons with the Buckeyes (1972–1975), then an NCAA record. He had 6,559 all-purpose yards and scored 26 touchdowns. In their four seasons with Griffin as their starting running back, the Buckeyes posted a record of 40–5–1.[5]Griffin is one of only two players in collegiate football history to start fourRose Bowl games,the other beingBrian Cushing.
Griffin introduced himself to OSU fans as a freshman by setting a school single-game rushing record of 239 yards in the second game of the 1972 season, againstNorth Carolina,breaking a team record that had stood for 27 seasons. His only carry in his first game had resulted in a fumble. He broke his own record as a sophomore with 246 rushing yards in a game against theIowa Hawkeyes.Over his four-year collegiate career, Griffin rushed for at least 100 yards in 34 games, including an NCAA record 31 consecutive games.
College statistics
edit| Season | Team | Rushing | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1972 | Ohio State | 159 | 867 | 5.5 | 3 |
| 1973 | Ohio State | 247 | 1,577 | 6.4 | 7 |
| 1974 | Ohio State | 256 | 1,695 | 6.6 | 12 |
| 1975 | Ohio State | 262 | 1,450 | 5.5 | 4 |
| Career | 924 | 5,589 | 6.0 | 26 | |
Honors
editGriffin finished fifth in the Heisman vote in his sophomore year and won the award as a junior and senior. He is the only NCAA football player to date to win the award twice.[6]In addition to his two Heisman Trophies, Griffin won many other college awards. He is one of four players to win theBig Ten Most Valuable Playertwice (1973–1974).[7]United Press Internationalnamed him Player of the Year twice (1974–1975),Walter Camp Foundationnamed him player of the year twice (1974–1975), he won theMaxwell Award(1975), andThe Sporting Newsnamed him Man of the Year (1975). TheCollege Football Hall of Fameenshrined Griffin in 1986. Ohio State enshrined him in their ownOhio State Athletics Hall of Famein 1981 and officially retired his number, 45, in 1999. He was inducted into theRose Bowl Hall of Famein 1990. On January 1, 2014, Griffin was named the 1970s player of the decade in theRose Bowl All-Century Classduring the celebration of the100th Rose Bowl Game (2014).
In 2013, Griffin was inducted into theInternational Sports Hall of Fame.[8]In 2020, he was ranked No. 4 on ESPN's list of the Top 150 players in college football history.[9]
On August 17, 2024, Griffin was honored with a statue and a legacy walk in the Rose Bowl.[10]On August 30, 2024, Griffin was honored with a statue outside Ohio Stadium.[11]
Professional career
editIn the1976 NFL draft,Griffin was selected in the first round, 24th overall, by theCincinnati Bengals.He played all seven seasons in the NFL with the Bengals, from 1976 to 1982. He was joined in the backfield by his college fullback teammatePete Johnson,drafted by the Bengals in 1977, and his brother and Ohio State defensive backRay Griffin,drafted in 1978. Griffin rushed for 2808 career yards and 7 touchdowns, and caught 192 passes for 1607 yards and 6 touchdowns. He played inSuper Bowl XVIwith the Bengals in 1982. He finished the game with one carry for four yards, and muffed a kick return in the 26–21 loss.[citation needed]
Following the end of his Bengals career, Griffin played very briefly with theJacksonville Bullsof theUnited States Football League(USFL). He played in one game and had ten carries for 11 yards.[12]
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1976 | CIN | 14 | 14 | 138 | 625 | 4.5 | 77 | 3 | 16 | 138 | 8.6 | 23 | 0 |
| 1977 | CIN | 12 | 11 | 137 | 549 | 4.0 | 31 | 0 | 28 | 240 | 8.6 | 24 | 0 |
| 1978 | CIN | 16 | 8 | 132 | 484 | 3.7 | 30 | 0 | 35 | 284 | 8.1 | 27 | 3 |
| 1979 | CIN | 16 | 15 | 140 | 688 | 4.9 | 63 | 0 | 43 | 417 | 9.7 | 52 | 2 |
| 1980 | CIN | 15 | 7 | 85 | 260 | 3.1 | 14 | 0 | 28 | 196 | 7.0 | 19 | 0 |
| 1981 | CIN | 16 | 2 | 47 | 163 | 3.5 | 23 | 3 | 20 | 160 | 8.0 | 17 | 1 |
| 1982 | CIN | 9 | 0 | 12 | 39 | 3.3 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 172 | 7.8 | 22 | 0 |
| 98 | 57 | 691 | 2,808 | 4.1 | 77 | 7 | 192 | 1,607 | 8.4 | 52 | 6 | ||
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1981 | CIN | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | CIN | 1 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 6 | 0 | ||
Post-football career
edit
Griffin is the former president and CEO of the Ohio State University Alumni Association. He is also the current[when?]spokesman for theWendy's High School Heismanaward program. Formerly, he served as assistant athletic director for the university and speaks to the football team before every game. He meets fans in the alumni suite, including opposing fans. He once made fun of a young man's beat up Wisconsin sweatshirt.[citation needed]
Griffin also serves on the board of directors for Motorists Insurance, which has offices in downtown Columbus,Abercrombie and Fitch,and the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, based in Irving, Texas.[citation needed]
Along with formerNational Basketball Associationbasketball playerMagic Johnson,Griffin was one of the investors in Mandalay Baseball Properties LLC, which owned theDayton Dragons,a single-A Minor League affiliate of theCincinnati Reds,prior to the sale of the team in 2014 to Palisades Arcadia Baseball LLC.[13][14][15]
On August 31, 2024, Griffin dotted the "i" during Ohio State's home opener.[16][17]
Family
editGriffin is a son of Margaret and James Griffin. He has six brothers and a sister. His brothers includeRaymond,a former NFL cornerback and a teammate with the Bengals, andKeithwho also played in the NFL.
In 2024, Griffin's son Andre became the head football coach atNotre Dame-Cathedral Latin School[18]and was previously an assistant football coach atOhio Northern University.Another son, Adam, played as a defensive back for Ohio State for three seasons until a shoulder injury ended his playing career.[19]Griffin also has three grandsons.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"The 150 greatest players in college football history: Jim Brown is No. 1".ESPN.January 14, 2020.RetrievedDecember 2,2024.
- ^"National High School Hall of Fame: Archie Griffin".Archived fromthe originalon September 6, 2006.
- ^"Legends of HS Football: Archie Griffin".Archived fromthe originalon March 20, 2006.
- ^Hackenberg, Dave (May 16, 2001)."Griffin singing praise for Buckeyes' Tressel".Toledo Blade.RetrievedJanuary 13,2015.
- ^"Archie Griffin: Associate Athletic Director".CSTV. Archived fromthe originalon August 14, 2006.
- ^Maise, Ivan (December 10, 2014)."Archie Griffin still Heisman standard".ESPN.RetrievedDecember 11,2014.
- ^"Past Silver Football winners".Chicago Tribune. December 8, 2016.RetrievedOctober 25,2017.
- ^Dr. Robert Goldman (March 12, 2013)."2013 International Sports Hall of Fame Inductees".sportshof.org.RetrievedJuly 14,2023.
- ^"The 150 greatest players in college football's 150-year history".ESPN.
- ^"Media Advisory Archie Griffin Statue Unveiling and Legacy Walk Dedication".Rose Bowl Stadium.Rose Bowl Stadium.RetrievedAugust 17,2024.
- ^"Statue of Archie Griffin at Ohio Stadium Unveiled, Dedicated".ohiostatebuckeyes.August 30, 2024.
- ^"Archie Griffin".USFL.
- ^"Single-A team celebrates 815th sellout".ESPN.ESPN. July 24, 2011.
- ^"Report: Deal to sell Dayton Dragons reached".daytondailynews.
- ^"Palisades Arcadia to acquire Dayton Dragons".milb.
- ^"Archie Griffin dots the 'i' in Script Ohio during halftime of Ohio State season opener".YouTube.August 31, 2024.
- ^"Buckeye legend Archie Griffin dots the" i "in Script Ohio during Ohio State halftime show".10TV.August 31, 2024.
- ^"ndclathletics.org NDCL Announces Andre Griffin as New Football Head Coach".
- ^"OhioStateBuckeyes Buckeye Biography - #11 Adam Griffin".Archived fromthe originalon April 20, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 17,2014.
External links
edit
- Archie Griffinat theCollege Football Hall of Fame
- Heisman Trophy profile
- Heisman Trophy profile
- Career statistics fromNFL·Pro Football Reference