John L. Griffith

Not to be confused with John G. Griffith or Johnny Griffith (coach).

John L. Griffith

Griffith pictured in The Quax 1918, Drake yearbook

Biographical details
Born| (1877-08-20)August 20, 1877
Mount Carroll, Illinois, U.S.
Died| December 7, 1944(1944-12-07) (aged 67)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Playing career
?–1902| Beloit
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
c. 1903| Yankton
1905–1907| Morningside
1908–1915| Drake
Basketball
1909–1910| Drake
1912–1914| Drake
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1902–1905| Yankton
1905–1908| Morningside
1908–1918| Drake
1922–1944| Big Ten (commissioner)
Head coaching record
Overall| 49–31–7 (football, excluding Yankton)

John Lorenzo Griffith (August 20, 1877 – December 7, 1944) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the first commissioner of the Big Ten Conference from 1922 until his death in 1944.[1]

Griffith attended Beloit College where he competed on the varsity football, baseball, basketball, and track and field teams.[2]

He married Allice Kelley on 17 Aug 1904. Alice was born 8 Nov 1879 in Waterford WI to Frances Beardsley Kelley and John Lawrence Kelley. She graduated Beloit College in Beloit, WI in 1901, and taught school. Alice died 20 Dec 1961 and is buried beside her husband in Oakhill Cemetery, Mount Carroll, Carroll County, Illinois. They had one child, John Lawrence Grffith, who was born in 1916 and died in 1984. He married Katherine Johnson who was born in 1917 and died in 2001. They both are interred in the Church of the Holy Comforter Columbarium in Winnetka IL.

## Coaching career

[edit]

### Morningside

[edit]

Griffith was the head football coach at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa for three seasons, from 1905 until 1907. His coaching record at Morningside was 13–6–4.[3]

### Drake

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Griffith was the tenth head football coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, serving for eight seasons, from 1908 until 1915, compiling a record of 36–25–3.[4] During his time at Drake, he created the Drake Relays, in 1910.[5]

## Head coaching record

[edit]

### Football

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Year  | Team  | Overall  | Conference | Standing  | Bowl/playoffs

|
|
|
|
|

Morningside (Independent) (1905–1907)
1905 | Morningside  | 6–1–2 |  |  |
1906 | Morningside  | 4–2–1 |  |  |
1907 | Morningside  | 2–3–1 |  |  |
Morningside: | 13–6–4 |  |
Drake Bulldogs (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1908–1915)
1908 | Drake | 6–2 | 1–2 | 5th |
1909 | Drake | 7–1 | 2–1 | 3rd |
1910 | Drake | 3–5 | 0–3 | 7th |
1911 | Drake  | 5–2–1 | 0–2–1 | 6th |
1912 | Drake  | 5–3 | 2–2 | 3rd |
1913 | Drake  | 4–3–1 | 1–3 | 5th |
1914 | Drake  | 4–3–1 | 0–3–1 | T–5th |
1915 | Drake  | 2–6 | 1–4 | 6th |
Drake: | 36–25–3 | 7–20–2 |
Total: |  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Schmidt, Ray (2000). "Major John Griffith" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. 13 (2). LA 84 Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
2. ^ Ray Schmidt. "MAJOR JOHN GRIFFITH". College Football Historical Society. p. 1. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
3. ^ DeLassus, David. "Morningside Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
4. ^ DeLassus, David. "Drake Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
5. ^ "John L. Griffith". Beloit Hall of Honor. Retrieved November 21, 2024.

## External links

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* John L. Griffith at Find a Grave

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Yankton Greyhounds head football coaches

* Unknown (1889–1899)
* Prescott L. Blodgett (1900)
* Unknown (1901)
* John L. Griffith (1902–1904)
* Warren B. Hyney (1905)
* Louis U. Todd (1906)
* Charles H. McCloy (1907)
* Judson Roberts (1908–1910)
* Ralph H. Bush (1911–1912)
* Homer Kerr (1913)
* William Carberry (1914)
* Victor Tharp (1915)
* Vincent E. Montgomery (1916–1922)
* Carl Youngsworth (1923–1937)
* Eugene Gentry (1938–1939)
* Lorne Arnold (1940–1941)
* Mano Stukey (1942)
* No team (1943–1944)
* Lorne Arnold (1945–1953)
* Bob Putnam (1954–1957)
* Virgil Sandvig (1958–1959)
* Vern McKee (1960–1962)
* Ron Blaylock (1963–1965)
* Al Kouneski (1966)
* Don Birmingham (1967–1969)
* Bill Bobzin (1970–1976)
* Todd Novaczyk (1977)
* Jim Chesley (1978–1980)
* Pete Chapman (1981–1982)
* Stan Zweifel (1983–1984)

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Morningside Mustangs head football coaches

* Robert Van Horne (1898)
* No team (1899)
* Robert Van Horne (1900)
* Unknown (1901)
* Charles G. Flanagan (1902)
* Everett Sweeley (1903)
* Eli F. Peckumn (1904)
* John L. Griffith (1905–1907)
* John W. Hollister (1908–1910)
* Harry W. Ewing (1911)
* Jason M. Saunderson (1912–1941)
* Stafford Cassell (1942)
* No team (1943–1944)
* Russell Hughes (1945)
* Les Davis (1946–1947)
* George Allen (1948–1950)
* Clayton Droullard (1951–1954)
* Dewey Halford (1955–1973)
* John Dornon (1974–1976)
* Steve Miller (1977–1979)
* Lyle Eidsness (1980)
* Tim McGuire (1981–1982)
* Erv Mondt (1983–1988)
* Dave Dolch (1989–1992)
* Charlie Cowdrey (1993–1995)
* Dave Elliott (1996–2000)
* No team (2001)
* Steve Ryan (2002– )

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Drake Bulldogs athletic directors

* W. W. Wharton (1894)
* W. J. Monilaw (1897)
* Charles Pell (1907)
* John L. Griffith (1908–1918)
* M. B. Banks (1919–1921)
* Kenneth L. Wilson (1922–1925)
* Ossie Solem (1925–1932)
* Evan O. Williams (1932–1940)
* Vee Green (1940–1946)
* J. Russell Cook (1946–1951)
* Jack McClelland (1951–1956)
* Dolph Stanley (1957–1959)
* Bob Karnes (1968–1986)
* Curtis Blake (1986–1990)
* Rob Ash # (1990)
* Lynn King (1990–2000)
* Dave Blank (2000–2006)
* Sandy Hatfield Clubb (2006–2017)
* Brian Hardin (2017– )

# denotes interim athletic director

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Drake Bulldogs head football coaches

* No coach (1893)
* W. W. Wharton (1894)
* Hermon Williams (1895)
* Fred Rogers (1896)
* A. B. Potter (1897–1899)
* Charles Best (1900–1901)
* G. O. Dietz (1902)
* W. J. Monilaw (1903–1904)
* Willie Heston (1905)
* Charles Pell (1906–1907)
* John L. Griffith (1908–1915)
* Ralph Glaze (1916–1917)
* M. B. Banks (1918–1920)
* Ossie Solem (1921–1931)
* Evan O. Williams (1932)
* Vee Green (1933–1946)
* Albert Kawal (1947–1948)
* Warren Gaer (1949–1958)
* Tom O'Connell (1959)
* Bus Mertes (1960–1964)
* Jack Wallace (1965–1976)
* Chuck Shelton (1977–1985)
* Exhibition only (1986)
* Nick Quartaro (1987–1988)
* Rob Ash (1989–2006)
* Steve Loney (2007)
* Chris Creighton (2008–2013)
* Rick Fox (2014–2018)
* Todd Stepsis (2019– )

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Drake Bulldogs men's basketball head coaches

* Charles Pell (1906–1909)
* John L. Griffith (1909–1910)
* A. R. Hackett (1910–1912)
* John L. Griffith (1912–1914)
* Ray Whisman (1914–1916)
* Ralph Glaze (1916–1917)
* S. W. Hobbs (1917–1918)
* M. B. Banks (1918–1921)
* Ossie Solem (1921–1925)
* Bill Boelter (1925–1932)
* Evan O. Williams (1932–1943)
* Bill Easton (1943–1944)
* Vee Green (1944–1946)
* Forddy Anderson (1946–1948)
* Jack McClelland (1948–1956)
* John Benington (1956–1958)
* Maury John (1958–1971)
* Howard Stacey (1971–1974)
* Bob Ortegel (1974–1981)
* Gary Garner (1981–1988)
* Tom Abatemarco (1988–1990)
* Eddie Fields # (1990)
* Rudy Washington (1990–1996)
* Kurt Kanaskie (1996–2003)
* Tom Davis (2003–2007)
* Keno Davis (2007–2008)
* Mark Phelps (2008–2013)
* Ray Giacoletti (2013–2016)
* Jeff Rutter # (2016–2017)
* Niko Medved (2017–2018)
* Darian DeVries (2018–2024)
* Ben McCollum (2024– )

# denotes interim head coach

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Big Ten Conference commissioners

* John L. Griffith (1922–1944)
* Kenneth L. Wilson (1945–1961)
* William R. Reed (1961–1971)
* Wayne Duke (1971–1989)
* Jim Delany (1989–2020)
* Kevin Warren (2020–2023)
* Tony Petitti (2023– )

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

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