Steven Leroy Griffin (born December 24, 1964) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for one season with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Falcons in the 12th round of the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. He also played for the Washington Commandos, Detroit Drive and Columbus Thunderbolts of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

Steven Leroy Griffin was born on December 24, 1964, in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He attended Miami Norland High School in

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 and N ...

. Griffin was a member of the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

from 1982 to 1985. He caught 20 passes for 287 yards and one touchdown as a freshman in 1982 while also returning eight kicks for 175 yards and five punts for 91 yards and one touchdown. In 1983, he recorded 24 receptions for 270 yards and 11 punt returns for 50 yards. During the 1984 season, Griffin totaled 60 catches for 991 yards and four touchdowns, 12 punt returns for 69 yards and three kick returns for 66 yards. As a senior in 1985, he caught 38 passes for 617 yards and six touchdowns while returning 17 punts for 134 yards and three kicks for 80 yards. He wore jersey number 2 while at Purdue. In 2018, the '' Journal & Courier'' named Griffin the best No. 2 in Purdue football history.

Professional career

Griffin was selected by the

in the 12th round, with the 308th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 12 but was released on August 19, 1986. Griffin played in all six games for the Washington Commandos of the

(AFL) during the league's inaugural 1987 season, catching 22 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns while also posting one solo tackle. He was a wide receiver/

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

during his time in the AFL as the league played under ironman rules. On September 23, 1987, Griffin signed with the Falcons during the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

. He played in two games for the Falcons before being released on October 19, 1987, after the strike ended. Griffin appeared in all 12 games for the Detroit Drive of the AFL in 1988, recording 48 receptions for 485 yards and six touchdowns, 21 solo tackles, 15 assisted tackles, one interception for six yards and a touchdown, seven pass breakups, and 18 kick returns for 313 yards and one touchdown. The Drive finished the 1988 season with a 9–3 record. On July 30, 1988, Detroit won ArenaBowl II against the Chicago Bruisers by score of 24–13. Griffin was named ArenaBowl MVP after totaling six receptions for 52 yards, two interceptions for 58 yards, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and one kick return for 15 yards. He only appeared in one game in 1989, posting one solo tackle and one assisted tackle. The Drive finished the year 3–1 and won ArenaBowl III against the

Pittsburgh Gladiators The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

. Griffin played in all eight games for Detroit in 1990, accumulating 21 catches for 243 yards and five touchdowns, 19 solo tackles, five assisted tackles, two interceptions, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. The Drive finihsed the 1990 season 6–2 and won the ArenaBowl for the third consecutive year. Griffin played in all ten games for the Columbus Thunderbolts of the AFL in 1991, recording 24 receptions for 293 yards and one touchdown, 13 solo tackles, one assisted tackle, one interception, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery, and 13 kick returns for 166 yards. The Thunderbolts finished the 1991 season with an 0–10 record.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Steve Living people 1964 births Players of American football from Miami American football wide receivers Miami Norland Senior High School alumni Purdue Boilermakers football players Washington Commandos players Atlanta Falcons players Detroit Drive players Cleveland Thunderbolts players