Percy W. Griffiths

Percy W. Griffiths
Sport(s)	Football
Biographical details
Born	March 30, 1893(1893-03-30)
Place of birth	Taylor, Pennsylvania
Died	June 12, 1983(1983-06-12) (aged 90)
Place of death	Clearwater, Florida
Playing career
1917–1920 1921	Penn State Canton Bulldogs
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1921–1926 1927–1928 1929–1930	Marietta Penn State (assistant) Dickinson
Head coaching record
Overall	16–41–10

Percy Wilfred "Red" Griffiths (March 30, 1893 – June 12, 1983) was a Republican politician, coach and athlete.

Early years

After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War I, "Red" Griffiths attended Bloomsburg Normal School. He next attend Pennsylvania State College where he would become an All-American college football player in 1920 as a stalwart guard for Hugo Bezdek’s undefeated 1920 team. He also lettered in lacrosse for the Nittany Lions and earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry there in 1921. He played one professional season (1921) with the Canton Bulldogs of the National Football League.

He continued his education at Columbia University, graduating in 1930.

Griffiths was athletic director and coached football, basketball and baseball at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio from 1921 to 1927. He served as Marietta’s mayor from 1938 to 1939 and later represented Washington County, Ohio and Ohio's 15th congressional district in the 78th, 79th, and 80th U.S. Congresses (1943–1949).

He retired to Clearwater, Florida in 1952, where he lived until his death at the age of 90.

Football playing career

Griffiths was an All-American in football at Penn State^[1] where he played guard on the offensive line.^[2]

Football coaching career

Marietta College

Griffiths coached football at Marietta College from 1921 until the end of the 1926 season, where he accumulated a record of 14 wins, 28 losses, and 7 ties.^[3] While at Marietta, he also coached men's basketball^[4] from 1922 until 1927.^[5]

Dickinson College

Griffiths was the 21st head football coach for the Dickinson College Red Devils in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and he held that position for two seasons, from 1929 until 1930.^[6] His overall coaching record at Dickinson was 2 wins, 13 losses, and 3 ties.^[7] This ranks him 28th at Dickinson in terms of total wins and 29th at Dickinson in terms of winning percentage.^[8]

See also

	United States Navy portal
	World War I portal

References

1. ^ Dickinson Magazine "The Boys of ’31: Surviving Red Devils recall how they tamed the Nittany Lions" by David Smith, October 1, 2004
2. ^ Newspaper Archive "New Castle News" November 18, 1921
3. ^ Marietta College Football Media Guide
4. ^ West Virginia University Basketball results
5. ^ Marietta College Basketball Media Guide
6. ^ Centennial Conference "2008 Centennial Conference Football Prospectus"
7. ^ “The History of Football at Dickinson College, 1885-1969.” Gobrecht, Wilbur J., Chambersburg, PA: Kerr Printing Co., 1971.
8. ^ http://www.centennial.org/football/mediaguide/PDF/21-23-Dickinson.pdf

External links

• Percy W. Griffiths at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-01-25

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Robert T. Secrest	United States Representative (District 15) from Ohio 1943–1949	Succeeded by Robert T. Secrest

Persondata
Name	Griffiths, Percy W.
Alternative names	Griffiths, Percy Wilfred
Short description	Politician, athlete and coach
Date of birth	March 30, 1893
Place of birth	Taylor, Pennsylvania
Date of death	June 12, 1983
Place of death	Clearwater, Florida