Left to Right: Sonny Brown (Photographer of the Evansville Courier) and Bob Griese at the Evansville Sportsman of the Year, 1968. Source: Sonny Brown collection, MSS 228-0662.

*Post written by James Wethington, library assistant of the University Archives and Special Collections.

In our final installment in our series, “You Know My Name”, we explore an Evansville native whom was numerous accolades in the college football and NFL: the one, the only, Bob Griese.

Born on February 3, 1945 in Evansville, Indiana, Bob Griese attended and graduated from Rex Mundi High School in 1963. He participated in three sports: football, basketball, and baseball (Indiana Hall of Fame, 2017). During his tenure at Rex Mundi, he received numerous honors such as (Indiana Hall of Fame, 2017):

• All-City Honors in football, basketball, and baseball
• All-State Honors in football and basketball

Among graduation from Rex Mundi, he decided to play football at Purdue University in 1964. He played at Purdue from 1964 to 1967. As a starter, he posted a record of 22-7-1 (Purdue University, 2017). During his tenure at Purdue, he received numerous honors such as (Indiana Hall of Fame, 2017):

• Football All-American, 1965-1966
• Big Ten Most Valuable Player, 1966
• Heisman Winner Runner-Up, 1966
• Won Rose Bowl, 1966

After finishing at Purdue, Griese turned his sights to the NFL. In the 1967 NFL draft, Griese was selected fourth overall by the Miami Dolphins. Under the leadership of Don Shula, Griese reached pinnacles that have gone unmatched since then. Griese retired in 1981 due to a shoulder surgery (Indiana Hall of Fame, 2017). During his term in Miami, we won numerous awards and championships such as (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2017; (Indiana Hall of Fame, 2017):

• Awards
  • Six-time Dolphins Most Valuable Player
  • All-Pro: 1971, 1977
  • All-AFC Team: 1970-1971, 1973, 1977
  • Two-time AFL All-Star
  • Six-time AFC-NFC Pro-Bowl: 1970-1971, 1973-1974, 1977-1978
• Championships
  • Two-time Super Bowl Champion: VII (1972), VIII (1973)

After a stellar career, Griese retired in 1980, after twelve seasons. The Miami Dolphins retired his #12 jersey. A decade later, Griese was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 by his former coach, Don Shula (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2018).

In the Sonny Brown collection at the University Archives and Special Collections, there are over thirty photographs of various high school events throughout Evansville, Indiana and surrounding Tri-State region.

References

Indiana Hall of Fame. (2017). Griese, Bob. Retrieved from http://www.indiana-football.org/?q=node/334

Pro Football Hall of Fame. (2017). Bob Griese | Miami Dolphins. Retrieved from http://www.profootballhof.com/players/bob-griese/biography/

Pro Football Hall of Fame. (2018). Bob Griese’s career capsule. Retrieved from http://www.profootballhof.com/players/bob-griese/capsule/

Purdue University (2017). Legends of Purdue football: Bob Griese. Retrieved from http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/legends-griese.html