Harold Griffin (American Football)
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Harold Griffin (born c. 1929) is a former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player. He played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
as a back for the
Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...
team. He led the NCAA major college players in 1946 with an average of 20.1 yards per punt return and set an unofficial national collegiate record with an average of 26.7 yards per return in 1947.


Early years

Griffin grew up in
Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, and attended Hillsborough High School where he was selected as an All-Southern high school player in 1945.


University of Florida

Griffin enrolled at the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in
Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...
, after first enrolling at
Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
. He shared the Gators'
backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the q ...
with
Chuck Hunsinger Charles Ray Hunsinger (July 25, 1925 – March 23, 1998) was an American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL) for six seasons during t ...
from
1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
to
1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...
. As a freshman in 1946, he led all NCAA major college players with an average of 20.1 yards per punt return. On October 19, 1946, he returned a punt 98 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown in Florida's homecoming game against
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. He returned another punt 87 yards during the 1946 season, and on November 23, 1946, he ran 73 yards for Florida's only touchdown against
NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...
. As a sophomore in 1947, Griffin reportedly set a new national record with an average of 26.7 yards per punt return, including returns of 67 and 90 yards. On November 14, 1947, he also returned a punt 46 yards with two minutes remaining in the game to set up the Gators' tying touchdown against
Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
. On October 1, 1949, he returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in a victory over
Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
.


See also

*
List of NCAA major college yearly punt and kickoff return leaders The list of NCAA major college football yearly punt and kickoff return leaders identifies the major college leaders for each season from 1939 to the present. It includes yearly leaders in four statistical categories: (1) total punt return yardage, ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Harold American football halfbacks Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida