.jpg) Griffin in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 45 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1954-08-21)August 21, 1954 (age 71) Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Eastmoor (Columbus, Ohio) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Ohio State (1972–1975) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1976: 1st round, 24th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Archie Mason Griffin (born August 21, 1954) is an American former professionalfootballrunning back who played with theCincinnati Bengals in theNational Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He playedcollege football for theOhio State Buckeyes, where he became the only two-timeHeisman Trophy winner inNCAA history, 1974–1975, and is considered one of the greatest college football players of all time.[1] Griffin won fourBig Ten Conference titles 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 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]
Griffin played for theOhio State UniversityBuckeyes from 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 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."[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 Conference in rushing for three straight years untilJonathan Taylor did 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.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the NCAA | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Season | Team | Rushing | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1972 | Ohio State | 139 | 772 | 5.6 | 3 |
| 1973 | Ohio State | 225 | 1,428 | 6.3 | 6 |
| 1974 | Ohio State | 236 | 1,620 | 6.9 | 12 |
| 1975 | Ohio State | 245 | 1,357 | 5.5 | 4 |
| Career | 845 | 5,177 | 6.1 | 25 | |
Griffin finished fifth in the Heisman vote in his sophomore year and won the award as a junior and senior.[6][7] He is the only NCAA football player to date to win the award twice.[8] 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 Player twice (1973–1974).[9]United Press International named him Player of the Year twice (1974–1975),Walter Camp Foundation named him player of the year twice (1974–1975),The Sporting News named himPlayer of the Year twice (1974–1975) andAthlete of the Year (1975),[10] and he won theMaxwell Award (1975).[11]
TheCollege Football Hall of Fame enshrined Griffin in 1986. Ohio State enshrined him in their ownOhio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981 and officially retired his number, 45, in 1999. He was inducted into theRose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1990. On January 1, 2014, Griffin was named the 1970s player of the decade in theRose Bowl All-Century Class during the celebration of the100th Rose Bowl Game (2014).
In 2013, Griffin was inducted into theInternational Sports Hall of Fame.[12] In 2020, he was ranked No. 4 on ESPN's list of the Top 150 players in college football history.[13]
On August 17, 2024, Griffin was honored with a statue and a legacy walk in the Rose Bowl.[14] On August 30, 2024, Griffin was honored with a statue outside Ohio Stadium.[15]
In the1976 NFL draft, Griffin was selected in the first round, 24th overall, by theCincinnati Bengals.[16] 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 XVI with 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 Bulls of theUnited States Football League (USFL). He played in one game and had ten carries for 11 yards.[17]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
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 Heisman award 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.
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 Association basketball 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.[18][19][20]
On August 31, 2024, Griffin dotted the "i" during Ohio State's home opener.[21][22]
Griffin 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, andKeith who also played in the NFL.
In 2024, Griffin's son Andre became the head football coach atNotre Dame-Cathedral Latin School[23] 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.[24] Griffin also has three grandsons.
| Preceded by | NCAA Division I FBS career rushing yards record 1975–1976 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
