Archie Mason Griffin is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
. Griffin played seven seasons in the NFL with the
Cincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
. He is college football's only two-time
Heisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner. Griffin won four
Big Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
titles with the
Ohio State BuckeyesThe Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
and was the first player ever to start in four
Rose BowlsThe Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
.
High school career
Griffin rushed for 1,787 yards and scored over 170 points in 11 games, including 29 touchdowns, as a senior fullback at
Eastmoor High SchoolEastmoor Academy is a public high school located on the east side of Columbus, Ohio. It is part of Columbus City Schools.Eastmoor Academy was formerly known as Eastmoor High School. The school's colors are red, white and blue, and its mascot is a warrior....
(now Eastmoor Academy) in
Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. 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 SchoolLinden McKinley High School is located in Columbus, Ohio and is part of the Columbus City Schools District. The school has an enrollment of approximately 500 students in grades 9-12.-Mission:...
. In his junior year, Griffin had also rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Honors
- In 1996 Griffin was inducted into the high school hall of fame.
- Eastmoor Academy renamed their playing field "Archie Griffin Field" in his honor.
College career
Griffin played for the
Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
BuckeyesThe Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
from 1972-75. Among
Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
fans, Griffin holds a status akin to a living
folk heroA folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
. His freshman year was the first year Freshman could play on the varsity team, so when he got the starting position a lot of Sophomores were disappointed because Griffin took their spots. Former Ohio State
head coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Woody HayesWayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University , Miami University , and Ohio State University , compiling a career college football record of 238–72–10.During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio...
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."
In 1972 Griffin was a T-formation
halfbackA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, and from 1973 through 1975 he was the team's I-formation
tailbackTailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
. 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 ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
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. Griffin is one of only two players in collegiate football history to start four
Rose Bowl gameThe Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
s, the other being
Brian Cushing-Houston Texans:Cushing was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.He scored his first career points on October 4, 2009 when he recorded a safety against the Oakland Raiders. The safety was the first recorded by a Texan since the 2002 season.Cushing was...
.
Griffin introduced himself to
Ohio StateThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
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. Coincidentally, 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 HawkeyesThe Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...
. Over his four-year collegiate career, Griffin rushed for at least 100 yards in 34 games, including an NCAA record 31 consecutive games.
Career rushing statistics
| Year | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 1972 |
159 |
867 |
5.5 |
3 |
| 1973 |
247 |
1,577 |
6.4 |
7 |
| 1974 |
256 |
1,695 |
6.6 |
12 |
| 1975 |
262 |
1,450 |
5.5 |
4 |
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 FoundationThe Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation;...
named him top player twice (1974-1975), he won the
Maxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
(1975), and Sporting News named him Man of the Year (1975). Griffin is also one of two players in NCAA history to start in four Rose Bowl games in a single career.
The
College Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
enshrined Griffin in 1986. Ohio State enshrined him their own
Varsity O Hall of FameThe Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the University in the field of athletics....
in 1981 and officially retired his number, #45, in 1999. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2007, he was ranked #21 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list.
Professional football career
In the
1976 NFL DraftThe 1976 National Football League Draft was an annual player selection meeting held on April 8–April 9, 1976. It lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two selections. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of...
, he was the first-round draft choice of the
Cincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
, selected as the 24th overall pick in the draft. He played 7 seasons in the NFL, all with the Bengals (1976-1982). He was joined in the backfield with his college fullback teammate
Pete JohnsonPete Johnson is a former college and professional American football running back. He spent 8 seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. Before his NFL career, Johnson played for the Ohio State Buckeyes.-College career:Johnson played fullback for Ohio State from 1973 through 1976...
, who was drafted by the Bengals in 1977. During his 7 NFL seasons, he rushed for 2808 yards and 7 touchdowns, and caught 192 passes for 1607 yards and 6 touchdowns. Griffin played in
Super Bowl XVISuper Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...
with the Bengals after the 1981 season.
After his career with the Bengals ended, Griffin played briefly with the
Jacksonville BullsThe Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985...
of the
United States Football LeagueThe United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
.
Career after football
Griffin returned to Ohio State University to receive a
MBAThe Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
. Griffin is currently the President and CEO of Ohio State University Alumni Association. He is also the current spokesman for the
Wendy's High School HeismanThe Wendy's High School Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , named after former college football player and coach John Heisman, is a prestigious award in American high-school athletics. It is sponsored by Wendy's Restaurants...
award program. Formerly, he served as Assistant Athletic Director for Ohio State University and still speaks to the football team before every game.
Griffin also serves on the Board of Directors for Motorists Insurance which has offices in downtown Columbus and the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, based in Irving, Texas.
Along with former NBA basketball star
Magic JohnsonEarvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
, Griffin is a part owner of the
Dayton DragonsThe Dayton Dragons are a Class A minor league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. They play in the Midwest League at Fifth Third Field.The Dragons came to Dayton in 2000...
, a Class Single-A minor league baseball team affiliated with
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's
Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
.
Family
Archie is a son to Margret and James Griffin. He has six brothers and a sister. His brothers are named Jimmy, Larry, Daryle, Raymond, Duncan, and Keith who also played in the NFL. His sister is named Krystal.
Archie is married to Bonita and has three sons, Anthony, Adam and Andre. He also has 2 grandsons: Kamron Griffin, and Diante Griffin.
Archie's son Andre is currently entering his fourth year as an assistant football coach at
Saginaw Valley State UniversitySaginaw Valley State University, commonly known as SVSU, is a state university in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the middle of Michigan's lower peninsula in the Saginaw Valley region. The university is located in Kochville Township, Saginaw County...
.
His son Adam is currently a reserve defensive back for the Ohio State football team.
External links