Robert Allen "Bob" Griese (/ˈɡriːsi/; born February 3, 1945) is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Griese's talents eventually resulted in his induction to the College Football Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He is a retired television commentator for college football on ESPN on ABC.
Griese was born in Evansville, Indiana to Ida (Ulrich) and Sylverious "Slick" Griese. Slick owned a plumbing company in Evansville and died in 1955 when Bob was ten years old. Bob played baseball primarily, and excelled as a pitcher. He also enjoyed basketball and football. After being recruited by several colleges for football, Bob chose Purdue, where he majored in business management and became a three-sport star. In 1984, Bob was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
While at Purdue, Bob became a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. In college Griese pitched for the baseball team, going 12-1 one season, played guard on the basketball team, and played quarterback, kicker, and punter for the Purdue football team. There were many games where Bob scored every one of Purdue’s points. He currently ranks #9 in scoring at Purdue; #5 in scoring among non-kickers and #4 among kickers. Griese’s passing skills greatly improved under the tutelage of head coach Jack Mollenkopf and quarterback coach Bob DeMoss.
In his junior year at game against Notre Dame, Griese completed 19 of 22 passes as he led the Boilermakers to an upset win.
Griese was a two-time All-American at Purdue, finishing at #8 in the 1965 Heisman Trophy race and was the runner-up to Steve Spurrier for the 1966 Heisman Trophy. Purdue finished second in the Big Ten in 1966, and he led the school's first appearance in the Rose Bowl, where they defeated USC 14-13. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992.
His sterling college career earned him induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1994, he was inducted as an inaugural member of the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame.
Griese was the fourth player selected in the 1967 Common Draft. He was selected by the AFL's Miami Dolphins. In 1980, Griese had found that he had lost his starting spot in the roster to either Don Strock or rookie David Woodley. However, Griese came off the bench for several games in a row to lead comeback wins. Griese won back the starting spot in the fifth game of the season, but was tackled hard by Mike Ozdowski of the Baltimore Colts. The tackle tore up Bob’s shoulder, and he was out for the rest of the year. The injury eventually led to Griese’s decision to retire from the game at the age of 35. Bob was eventually elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
To stay in touch with the game, Griese decided to take a job as an announcer for NBC Sports, teaming with Charlie Jones for NFL games. Later, Griese was hired by ABC Sports, where he began to provide color commentary for college football games. He formed a memorable team with Keith Jackson, and found many opportunities to watch his son Brian Griese play for the Michigan Wolverines. Eventually, Bob was considered one of the top commentators in the country. ABC was at first reluctant to let Griese broadcast Michigan games, fearing a conflict of interest. But when they decided to give it a try, Bob remained as impartial and professional as he could be, even referring to his son as “Griese,” rather than Brian, and pointing out errors when he felt necessary. On January 1, 1998, Bob got to broadcast the Rose Bowl game, the last college game of his son's career. Brian was named MVP of the game, leading his Wolverines to an undefeated season and a share of the national championship title with Nebraska with their Rose Bowl victory. Bob and Brian were emotional at that moment, as they thought of Bob’s wife Judi, who had died from breast cancer but whom they both felt was there at that special moment. Bob and Brian later wrote a book, entitled Undefeated, which discussed not only their football connection, but also their love for Judi. Brian has since become a professional quarterback and broadcaster himself, once playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bob now resides with his second wife, Shay, in Jupiter, Florida and Banner Elk, North Carolina. His son is Brian Griese, who also played quarterback in the NFL. In 2006, he was on Wheel of Fortune. Griese won, and the winnings went to Judi's House.
Taken from Wikipedia