Ohio State football great Archie Griffin to be honored with statue outside Rose Bowl
Archie Griffin is getting a statue outside the Rose Bowl.
The Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation announced Friday that a statue in honor of Griffin, the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner and former Ohio State tailback, will be erected in August.
The statue is to be outside the stadium’s south entrance underneath the marquee sign and sit adjacent to an also soon-to-be-built legends walk recognizing other Heisman winners. A dedication ceremony will be open to the public.
“I am humbled to have a statue in my honor at the Rose Bowl Stadium, one of the most prestigious stadiums in America,” Griffin said in a statement.
Griffin started for the Buckeyes in Rose Bowl games from 1973-76, remaining one of only two players to start in the famed New Year’s Day bowl game for four consecutive years.
“Please know that when you honor me with this recognition, you also honor the teams that I played on during my four years at The Ohio State University,” Griffin’s statement continued. “I was simply in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.
“That’s what allowed me to enjoy the success that my teammates and I experienced. Again, I am extremely grateful to be honored in this manner.”
Griffin’s statue will be the fifth outside the Rose Bowl, joining others that have been put up for Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in Major League Baseball and a native of Pasadena, California; the 1999 U.S. women’s soccer team, which won a World Cup in the stadium; Keith Jackson, the legendary broadcaster who gave the Rose Bowl its nickname as the “Granddaddy of Them All;” and former UCLA football coach Terry Donahue.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Archie Griffin, Ohio State legend, to get statue outside Rose Bowl
