COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Archie Griffin statue was unveiled outside of Ohio Stadium Friday morning. Griffin played for the Buckeyes from 1972-1975 and is the only two time Heisman trophy winner.
“It is truly one of the great privileges of my life to be here in my hometown for this occasion,” Griffin said.
Head football coach, Ryan Day, attended part of the unveiling and expressed how he’s seen what Griffin has done for the community.
“When I think of Archie Griffin, that’s what I think about, unmatched class, so thank you, Archie,” Day said.
The same Griffin statue was just unveiled outside the Rose Bowl Stadium in California. Brian Hanlon, the artist behind the sculptures, explained that these will memorialize Griffin forever.
“Celebrating history and adding to the morale of the fanbase is absolutely incredible to be a part of and those two things were accomplished here today,” Hanlon said.
Many family, friends and fans were out at the unveiling showing their support for Griffin, including Robert Saunders.
“He deserves it. He’s done so much work for the community, for sports and everything, so it’s a well-deserved honor,” Saunders said.
Saunders said he is close with both Griffin and Griffin’s family and that all the nice things people say about him are true.
“That he is what you see, a very very wonderful, great person," Saunders said. "His personality is unmatched, really. Anyone would tell, you know, I’ll tell you, you hear everyone say you can’t say nothing bad about him, I’ve known the man 52 years and can’t say nothing bad about him."
The ceremony was focused on Griffin, but he brought attention to the people who helped to get him where he is today.
“I hope when people see this statue they think about the great teams we had the four years I played and not just the guy who wore number 45 who got too much credit,” Griffin said.
Griffin is also dotting the I in the Script Ohio with the band in Saturday’s game.