Article published Sunday, October 21, 2007
IN THEIR WORDS: ARCHIE GRIFFIN
Born a Buckeye: no doubt about it
In Their Words appears Sundays in The Blade's sports section. Ohio State football icon Archie Griffin shared some of his thoughts with Blade sports writer Matt Markey.
Archie Griffin has long been the most-prized ambassador for Ohio State's prolific football program. Legendary Buckeyes coach Wood Hayes simply called Griffin "the greatest player I ever coached."
Not only was Griffin the sole two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy (1974, 1975), college football's most prestigious award, but he also helped Ohio State win four Big Ten Conference championships, and is the only player ever to start in four Rose Bowl games. He was also a very durable combination of power, balance and speed, which allowed Griffin to put together a streak of 31 straight 100-yard rushing games.
Griffin's 5,589 rushing yards and 924 carries make him the Ohio State career leader in both categories by a wide margin. He averaged 121.5 yards rushing a game in his 46 career games with the Buckeyes.
Griffin, 53, signed with the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL as a first-round draft pick after graduating a quarter early with a degree in industrial relations. Griffin served as a co-captain and played with the Bengals for eight seasons.
He returned to Ohio State in 1984, and worked at several positions in the upper hierarchy of the athletic department before taking on his current role as president and CEO of the Ohio State University Alumni Association in January, 2004.