Tyrone K. McGriff Sr. (January 13, 1958 – December 9, 2000) 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 ...

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 ...

who played 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 Pittsburgh Steelers for three seasons. He then played three seasons in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) and was a member of the 1983 USFL champions as a starting guard for the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

, for whom he also played in 1984 before playing the 1985 season with the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

. He was

Mr. Irrelevant Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the last pick of the annual National Football League Draft. Although NFL drafts date back to 1936, the first person to be called Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk of the 1976 NFL Draft. History "Mr. Irrelev ...

, as the last pick (333rd overall) in the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York Sh ...

. McGriff died in 2000 of a heart attack while in the employed as director of the Gifford Youth Activity Center in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

. McGriff was survived by his two children, April and Tyrone McGriff Jr., and wife, Barbara Rollins McGriff.Ex-famu Star Mcgriff Dies
/ref> Tyrone McGriff played football at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

, where he made all-conference and preseason All-American. In 1996, McGriff Sr. was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of a large group of previously overlooked play

Head coaching record

College

Notes

References

External links

* * * 1958 births 2000 deaths American football offensive guards Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football coaches Florida A&M Rattlers football coaches Florida A&M Rattlers football players Grambling State Tigers football coaches Memphis Showboats players Michigan Panthers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Tennessee State Tigers football coaches High school football coaches in Florida College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Melbourne, Florida People from Vero Beach, Florida Coaches of American football from Florida Players of American football from Florida African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{offensive-lineman-1950s-stub