Percy Wilfred "Red" Griffiths (March 30, 1893 – June 12, 1983) was an

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 wi ...

player and coach and politician. He played college football at Pennsylvania State College—now known as Pennsylvania State University and professionally for one season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) with the Canton Bulldogs. Griffiths was the head football coach at

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a ...

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Ma ...

from 1921 to 1926 and Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania from 1929 to 1930, compiling a career college football coaching record of 16–41–10. He was the mayor of Marietta, Ohio from 1938 and 1939 and served three terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, representing

Ohio's 15th congressional district The 15th congressional district of Ohio currently represented by Republican Mike Carey. It was represented by Republican Steve Stivers from 2011 until May 16, 2021, when he resigned to become president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce ...

from 1943 to 1949.

Early life and playing career

After serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, "Red" Griffiths attended Bloomsburg Normal School. He moved on to

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

where he played college football as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for

Hugo Bezdek Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913– ...

's undefeated 1920 team. Griffith was named to the

1920 College Football All-America Team The 1920 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1920. The four selectors recognized by the N ...

. He also lettered in

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

for the Nittany Lions and earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Penn State in 1921. He played one professional season (1921) with the Canton Bulldogs of the

(NFL).

Coaching career

Marietta

Griffiths was the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

and coached football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

from 1921 to 1927. He coached football at Marietta from 1921 until the end of the 1926 season, accumulating a record of 14–28–7. While at Marietta, he also coached men's

from 1922 until 1927.

Dickinson

Griffiths was the 21st head football coach at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, serving for two seasons, from 1929 to 1930, and compiling a record of 2–13–3.

Political career and later life

Griffiths continued his education at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, graduating in 1930. He served as Marietta's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

from 1938 to 1939 and later represented

Washington County, Ohio Washington County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,711. Its county seat is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for George Washington. Was ...

and

in the 78th, 79th, and 80th

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

es (1943–1949). Griffiths retired to Clearwater, Florida in 1952, where he lived until his death at the age of 90, in 1983.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Percy W. 1893 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American politicians American athlete-politicians American football guards United States Navy personnel of World War I Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Bloomsburg Huskies football players Canton Bulldogs players Columbia University alumni Dickinson Red Devils football coaches Marietta Pioneers athletic directors Marietta Pioneers baseball coaches Marietta Pioneers football coaches Marietta Pioneers men's basketball coaches Mayors of places in Ohio Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players Penn State Nittany Lions men's lacrosse players People from Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Politicians from Marietta, Ohio Lacrosse players from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Marietta, Ohio United States Navy sailors Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio