Buckeye Football Legend to Speak at Junior League Town Hall Lecture Series on November4th
(From Tamera Geesling of the Junior League of Dayton)
Archie Griffin’s accomplishments on the field are legendary. He is the only two-time winner of the prestigious Heisman Trophy, a three-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Most Valuable Player, first-round draft pick and member of several Halls of Fame. Among fans of The Ohio State University (OSU), he is a legend and an icon. Griffin will appear in Dayton on November 4, at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Center for Performing Arts as part of the Junior League of Dayton’s (JLD) Town Hall Lecture Series. Additionally, several local members of the OSU Alumni Band are scheduled to lead Griffin on stage to kick off the event.
It could be said Griffin was born to be a Buckeye – he was born at the OSU Hospital. After a stand-out career at Eastmoor High School in Columbus, Ohio, Griffin also valued the importance of a good education and considered attending the Naval Academy, Northwestern and (gasp!) Michigan. Griffin’s close-knit family was an influencing factor. “The fact that my older brothers were playing out of town and my parents would have the opportunity to pretty much just come around the corner and watch me play if I went to Ohio State was appealing,” Griffin said.
Griffin’s freshman debut in 1972 was humbling as he fumbled his first collegiate carry and was taken out of the game. Griffin has said that the three D’s (desire, dedication and determination) have been a motto for him throughout his life. In his second OSU game he set a school single-game rushing record of 239 yards. It was the start of a brilliant career that would see him amass an OSU record 5,589 yards, 26 touchdowns, numerous awards and the enduring adulation of Buckeye fans. In 1976, he was a first-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, where he served as co-captain and played for eight years.
What makes him a true legend is that he is equally well-known for his accomplishments off the field. Former Ohio State
head coach Woody 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.” Today, Griffin is the President/CEO of The OSU Alumni Association and one its biggest cheerleaders. In addition to being a member of several charitable organizations, Griffin started the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund and he and his wife Bonita founded the Archie and Bonita Griffin Foundation Fund that sponsors sports, educational and travel programs for central Ohio children. Additionally, he is the spokesman for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Program which recognizes the nation’s most esteemed high school senior men and women for excellence in athletics, academics and leadership.
Don’t miss your opportunity to learn from this Ohio legend. Tickets are $31 each (plus handling) and can be ordered by calling 937-228-3630 or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com. The lecture begins at 10:00 am and doors open at 9:00 am. The Archie Griffin lecture is presented by AAA Miami Valley with additional support provided by Liberty Savings Bank and media partners, ThinkTV and Times Community Newspaper.
To date, the Town Hall Lecture Series has raised over $1.8 million to support local JLD community programs, such as POWER (Program of Wellness Education and Resources), a children’s advocacy program in partnership with The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton, and the Holiday Hunt, an annual tradition of the Dayton Holiday Festival.
The Junior League of Dayton is an organization of women who are committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. For more information about the JLD and its community programs, visit www.jldayton.org.
DaytonMostMetro.com has your free tickets!
For a chance to win a pair of tickets ($62 value) to see Archie Griffin on November 4th for the second installment in the Junior League of Dayton’s Town Hall Lecture Series (Jamie Farr was the first), simply comment below and tell us something about the Junior League of Dayton that you admire and we’ll randomly select a winner on Wednesday October 27th. NOTE: This event takes place at 10am on Thursday November 4th – please make sure you can attend before entering to win.
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