Today in Black American history: December 2, 1975 – Archie Mason Griffin is a former Black American football running back became the first person ever to win the Heisman Trophy twice on this date in 1975. Griffin played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. He is college footballs only two-time Heisman Trophy winner. Griffin won 4 Big Ten Conference titles with the Ohio State Buckeyes and was the first player ever to start in 4 Rose Bowls. 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. His freshman year was the first year freshmen could play on the varsity team, so when he won a starting position, many sophomores were disappointed because Griffin took their spots. Former Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes said of Griffin, Hes a better young man than he is a football player, and hes the best football player Ive ever seen. In 1972 Griffin was a T-formation halfback, and from 1973 through 1975 he was the teams I-formation tailback. He led the Buckeyes in rushing as a freshman with 867 yards, but his numbers exploded the following year with the teams conversion to the I-formation. He rushed for 1,428 yards in the regular season as a sophomore, 1,620 as a junior, and 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. Griffin is one of only two players in collegiate football history to start 4 Rose Bowl games, the other being Brian Cushing. Griffin introduced himself to Ohio State fans in his third 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 Hawkeyes. Over his four-year collegiate career, Griffin rushed for at least 100 yards in 34 games, including an NCAA record 31 consecutive games. Griffin finished fifth in the Heisman vote in his sophomore year and won the award as a junior and senior. He has been the only NCAA football player to date to win the award twice. 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). 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 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. In 2007, he was ranked #21 on ESPNs Top 25 Players In College Football History list. On January 1, 2014, Archie Griffin was named the All-Century Player of the Rose Bowl Game during the celebration of the 100th Rose Bowl Game and participated in the Rose Parade. Click on the link below to read more about Black Americans and Events. https://facebook/groups/LeConteLewisJr/
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:24:09 +0000
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