Bob Griese Pro Football Hall of Fame

Lore & Background

Griese was born in Evansville, Indiana, to Ida (Ulrich) and Sylverious 'Slick' Griese. Slick owned a plumbing company in Evansville and died in 1955 when his son was ten years old. Bob primarily played baseball and excelled as a pitcher. He also played basketball and football at Evansville's Rex Mundi High School, and earned 12 varsity letters for the Monarchs.

In the summer of 1963, Griese led his American Legion Baseball team to the American Legion Baseball World Series as the Region 5 champion. He led the basketball team to the No. 1 ranking in Indiana during the 1962–63 season and a record of 19–3. The Monarchs were 15–5 during his Junior (9–1) and Senior (6–4) seasons, as he was named 1st Team All-City for three seasons. After being recruited by several colleges for football, Bob chose Purdue University, where he majored in management (Krannert School of Management) and became a three-sport star.

While at Purdue, Griese became a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. Griese pitched for the Purdue baseball team, going 12–1 one season, played guard on the Purdue basketball team, and played quarterback, kicker, and punter for the Purdue football team. There are at least four football games in which Griese was in some way responsible for all of Purdue's points. As of the beginning of the 2016 NCAA football season, Griese ranks #10 in all-time scoring at Purdue; #5 in scoring among non-kickers and #4 among kickers.

Griese's passing skills greatly improved under the tutelage of head coach Jack Mollenkopf and quarterback coach Bob DeMoss. In his junior year at Purdue in a game against the top-ranked Notre Dame, Griese completed 19 of 22 passes as he led the Boilermakers to an upset win. Griese was a two-time All-American at Purdue, finishing at No. 8 in the 1965 Heisman Trophy race and was the runner-up to Steve Spurrier for the 1966 Heisman Trophy. Purdue finished second in the Big Ten in 1966, and he led the school's first appearance in the Rose Bowl, where they defeated USC 14–13.

He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992. He also won the Big Ten Medal of Honor for excellence in athletics and academics. Griese's achievements during his college career earned him induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

Reader's Guide

Griese was selected by the AFL's Miami Dolphins in the first round as the fourth overall pick in the 1967 Common Draft. Griese threw for 2,005 yards and 15 touchdowns his rookie year. Griese was an AFL All-Star his first two years with the Dolphins, and earned AFL All-Star or AFC-NFC Pro Bowl honors in six additional seasons. While he never put up huge numbers, his leadership played an important role in helping the Dolphins compete in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning the latter two contests.

Griese started the 1967 season as the team's second-string quarterback behind John Stofa. When Stofa broke his ankle in the first quarter of the first game of the 1967 season, Griese stepped in and led the Dolphins to a 35–21 victory against the Denver Broncos. The 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons were tough for the expansion Dolphins. After a difficult 1969 season that was worse than the 1968 season, coach George Wilson was fired.

Dolphins owner Joe Robbie brought in Don Shula from the Baltimore Colts in 1970, and the team's personality and fortunes turned quickly. They went from a 3–10–1 record in 1969 to 10–4 in 1970, making the playoffs. In 1971, the Dolphins made it to the Super Bowl, losing 24–3 to the Dallas Cowboys. Griese was named the 1971 Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL Most Valuable Player award, and won the Jim Thorpe Trophy.

The 1972 season began with the Dolphins winning their first four games. In the fifth game of the season, Griese was tackled hard by Deacon Jones and Ron East of the San Diego Chargers, and went down with a broken leg and dislocated ankle. Earl Morrall, fresh off the waiver wire from Shula's former team, the Baltimore Colts, guided the Dolphins through the rest of the regular season, and maintained an unbeaten record in the process. Morrall also led the NFL in five passing categories during this time, including passer rating.

As the playoffs began, the Dolphins were not as strong as they needed to be to go deep into the postseason, barely winning against the Cleveland Browns. The second game of the playoffs the team got off to a slow start against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shula asked Griese to relieve the ailing Morrall. Griese took the field and completed 3 of 5 passes for 70 yards as the Dolphins beat the Steelers by a score of 21–17 to clinch their second straight Super Bowl appearance.

Did You Know?

• Griese is one of three quarterbacks from Purdue to win the Super Bowl (along with Len Dawson and Drew Brees).
• He later worked as a television commentator, calling NFL games for NBC Sports and college football for ESPN and ABC Sports.