40 Facts About Bob Griese

Rob Allen Griese is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League and National Football League.

Bob Griese earned All-American honors playing college football with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the Dolphins of the AFL.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of the 1970s, Bob Griese led the Dolphins to a then record three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, including two Super Bowl victories in VII and VIII, the first of which capped off Miami's undefeated and untied 1972 season, the only such season in NFL history.

Bob Griese was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

Bob Griese later worked as a television commentator, calling NFL games for NBC Sports and college football for ESPN and ABC Sports.

Bob Griese is one of three quarterbacks from Purdue to win the Super Bowl.

Bob Griese was born in Evansville, Indiana to Ida and Sylverious "Slick" Bob Griese.

Slick owned a plumbing company in Evansville and died in 1955 when Bob Griese was ten years old.

Bob Griese starred in basketball and football at Evansville's Rex Mundi High School.

Bob Griese's team did not reach the finals, as the Arthur L Peterson Post of Long Beach, California, won the title.

Bob Griese scored 900 points in his high school career and while being named All-Sectional, he could not lead the Monarchs past Evansville Bosse in the highly competitive Evansville IHSAA Sectional.

Bob 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.

Bob Griese was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992.

Bob Griese was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor for excellence in athletics and academics.

Bob Griese was joined in the honor by Drew Brees, Rod Woodson and Leroy Keyes.

Bob Griese was selected by the AFL's Miami Dolphins as the fourth player in the 1967 Common Draft.

Bob Griese threw for 2,005 yards and 15 touchdowns his rookie year.

Bob 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.

Bob Griese started the season as the team's second-string quarterback behind John Stofa.

Bob Griese was named the 1971 Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL Most Valuable Player award, and was awarded the Jim Thorpe Trophy.

Bob Griese connected on 8 of 11 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, and Larry Csonka rushed for over 120 yards.

In 1973 Bob Griese led another strong Dolphins team, but they did not make it through the season undefeated.

In one game against the Houston Oilers, Bob Griese dueled with Oiler running back Earl Campbell in an offensive slugfest.

Bob Griese threw for over 300 yards and Campbell rushed for nearly 200.

Bob Griese was not as effective, and he began to hear some criticism.

In 1980, Bob Griese found himself on the bench due to the emergence of Don Strock and rookie David Woodley.

However, Bob Griese came off the bench for several games in a row to lead comeback wins.

Bob Griese won back the starting spot in the fifth game of the season, but was tackled hard by Mike Ozdowski of the Baltimore Colts.

Bob Griese was eventually elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

The Miami Dolphins had the highest winning percentage in all professional sports in the 1970s, and Bob Griese was its starting quarterback throughout the decade, except when he was injured for several games in 1972,1975, and 1978.

Bob Griese was a six-time Dolphins' MVP and was All-Pro in 1971 and 1977.

Bob Griese played in two AFL All-Star games and six Pro Bowls.

In 1987, Bob Griese was hired by ABC Sports, where he began to provide color commentary for college football games.

At ABC Bob Griese had many opportunities to watch his son Brian Bob Griese play for the Michigan Wolverines.

On January 1,1998, Bob Griese got to broadcast the Rose Bowl game, the last college game of his son's career.

Bob Griese has been an analyst of Miami Dolphins preseason TV broadcasts since 2002.

In 2011 Bob Griese joined the Dolphins Radio Broadcast team as a color commentator, replacing former teammate Jim Mandich.

Bob Griese married Purdue classmate Judi Lassus in June 1967, following their graduation, and they had three sons.

In 2006, Bob Griese made an appearance on the game show, Wheel of Fortune: he won the $100,000 grand prize and donated his $114,310 total winnings to Judi's House.

In 1975, Bob Griese received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.