Archie Griffin was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he rose to stardom at Ohio State, winning a pair of Heisman Trophies. He still lives there.
Now he’s also a permanent resident of Pasadena.
The Rose Bowl unveiled a statue of the decorated running back Saturday, honoring Griffin as the stadium did with monuments to Jackie Robinson, Terry Donahue, Keith Jackson and the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup team.
“It means so much it’s indescribable,” said Griffin, one of two players to start in four consecutive Rose Bowl games. “I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time with the right people to allow me to be on great teams that did so well. With me having a statue, I look at it as an honor to the teams that I played on.”
Griffin, who turns 70 on Wednesday, is the only two-time Heisman winner and won four Big Ten titles with the Buckeyes from 1972 to 1975. Legendary coach Woody Hayes called him “the best football player I’ve ever seen.”
Ohio State went 1-3 in those Rose Bowls, going 1-2 against USC and losing the last to UCLA.
“This place has special memories,” Griffin said. “Every time I come out here what comes to mind is the Rose Bowl because we would always come out 2½ weeks early and train here, because back in Ohio it was not set up for training in the winter.
“We got a chance to do a lot of things, enjoy all the attractions around and that was good sometimes, and sometimes it was bad because you couldn’t concentrate on what you were trying to do. But we enjoyed it out here.”
The Rose Bowl gifted an identical Griffin statue to Ohio State.
“While this statue will celebrate Archie’s football greatness, I see this as an even bigger symbol — a permanency of Archie’s greatness as a human being,” said Dedan Brozino, president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the stadium’s chief development officer.
“Archie’s heart and desire to give back in so many ways post-football has impacted countless lives. This statue will stand for a man that represents how we can all pay it forward in life.”