Archie Griffin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Archie Griffin
Date of birth	August 21, 1954 (age 52)
Place of birth	Columbus, Ohio
Position(s)	Running Back
College	Ohio State
NFL Draft	1976 / Round 1/ Pick 24
Career Highlights
Awards	1974 Heisman Trophy 1975 Heisman Trophy
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1976-82 1983	Cincinnati Bengals Jacksonville Bulls (USFL)
College Hall of Fame

Archie Mason Griffin (born August 21, 1954) is a former American football running back remembered in sports as college football's only two-time Heisman trophy winner. Griffin won four Big Ten Conference titles with the the Ohio State University Buckeyes and is the only player ever to start in four Rose Bowls.

Contents 1 High school career 1.1 Honors 2 College career 2.1 Career Rushing Statistics 2.2 Honors 3 Professional football career 4 Career after football 5 Trivia 6 Notes 7 External links

[edit] High school career

Griffin rushed for 1,737 yards and scored 170 points in 10 games, including 29 touchdowns, as a senior running back at Eastmoor High School (now Eastmoor Academy) in Columbus, Ohio. That year he led Eastmoor to the Columbus City League championship, rushing for 267 yards on 31 carries in the title game against Linden-McKinley High School. In his junior year, Griffin had also rushed for over 1000 yards.^[1]

[edit] Honors

In 1996 Griffin was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame. Eastmoor Academy renamed their playing field "Archie Griffin Field" in his honor.^[2]

[edit] College career

Griffin played for the Ohio State University Buckeyes from 1972-75. Among Ohio State University college football fans, Griffin holds a status akin to a living folk hero. Former Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes said 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."^[3]

In 1972 Griffin was a T-formation halfback, and from 1973 through 1975 he was the team's I-formation tailback. 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 is the only back to lead the Big Ten Conference in rushing for three straight years. 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.^[4] Griffin is the only player in collegiate football history to start four Rose Bowl games.

Griffin introduced himself to Ohio State fans in his second game as a freshman by setting a school single-game rushing record of 239 yards in the second game of the 1972 season, against North Carolina, breaking a team record that had stood for 27 seasons. Ironically, 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 the Iowa Hawkeyes. Over his four-year collegiate career, Griffin rushed for at least 100 yards in 34 games, including an NCAA record 31 consecutive games.

[edit] Career Rushing Statistics

Year	Att	Yds	Avg
1972	159	867	5.5
1973	247	1,577	6.4
1974	256	1,695	6.6
1975	262	1,450	5.5

[edit] Honors

Griffin finished fifth in the Heisman vote in his sophomore year and won the award as a junior and senior. In addition to his two Heisman Trophies, Griffin won many other College Awards. He is one of two players to win The Big 10 Most Valuable Player Award twice (1973-1974). United Press International named him Player of the Year twice (1974-1975), the Walter Camp Foundation named him top player twice (1974-1975), he won the Maxwell Award (1975), and Sporting News named him Man of the Year (1975).

The College Football Hall of Fame enshrined Griffin in 1986. Ohio State enshrined him their own Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1981 and officially retired his number, #45, in 1999. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1990.

[edit] Professional football career

In the 1976 NFL Draft, he was the first-round choice of the Cincinnati Bengals, for whom he played seven seasons (1976-1982). During that time, he rushed for 2,808 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. He also caught 192 passes for 1,607 yards, returned 22 kickoffs for 461 yards, and scored 13 touchdowns (7 rushing, 6 receiving). Griffin played in Super Bowl XVI with the Bengals after the 1981 season.

After his career with the Bengals ended, Griffin played briefly with the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League.

[edit] Career after football

Griffin is currently the President of The Ohio State University Alumni Association. He is also the current spokesman for the Wendy's High School Heisman award program. Formerly, he served as Assistant Athletic Director for The Ohio State University. Griffin is a favorite interview for broadcasters during slow moments in football coverage due to his generosity with his time and his humble and friendly demeanor.

[edit] Trivia

• Footage of one of Griffin's touchdown runs during his college career is featured in a highlight reel on the main menu of the video game NCAA Football 06.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Archie Griffin's Heisman Award Bio
• College football career summary from the Ohio State University website
• Archie Griffin Profile at Rosebowl Legends

Preceded by John Cappelletti	Heisman Trophy Winner 1974 & 1975	Succeeded by Tony Dorsett
Preceded by Steve Joachim	Maxwell Award Winner 1975	Succeeded by Tony Dorsett
Preceded by Otis Armstrong	Big Ten Football MVP 1973 & 1974	Succeeded by Cornelius Greene
Preceded by George Hasenohrl	Ohio State Buckeyes Football Season MVP 1973 & 1974	Succeeded by Cornelius Greene
Preceded by John R. Baiorunos Pat Haden Randy L. Hall Jarrett T. Hubbard Tony Waldrop	NCAA Top Five Award Class of 1976 Marvin L. Cobb Archie Griffin Bruce A. Hamming P. Timothy Moore John M. Sciarra	Succeeded by Jeff Dankworth Randolph H. Dean Steve Furniss John Hencken Gerald G. Huesken
Preceded by Dianne Baker Junior Bridgeman Pat Haden Lisa Rosenblum John Dickson Stufflebeem John Trembley	Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) Class of 2001 Alpha V. Alexander Archie Griffin Steve Largent Steve Raible Lee Roy Selmon Wally Walker	Succeeded by Richard C. Chapman Maurice "Bo" Ellis Herman Frazier Betsy King John Naber Rodney E. Slater
Preceded by 2 HB formation prior to 1973	Ohio State Buckeyes Starting Tailbacks 1973-1975	Succeeded by Jeff Logan

Ohio State Buckeyes Football Retired Numbers
#22 Les Horvath • #27 Eddie George • #31 Vic Janowicz • #40 Hopalong Cassady • #45 Archie Griffin • #47 Chic Harley

Ohio State Buckeyes Football I-Formation Tailbacks
Griffin • Logan • Springs • Murray • Spencer • Byars • Wooldridge • Workman • Snow • Smith • Harris • George • Pearson • Wiley • Combs • Wells • Clarett • Ross • Pittman