Did Archie Griffin wrestle in high school?

Answer 1

yes. Archie of Eastmoor High School in Columbus, Ohio, in addition to being the AAA state football player of the year, was also one of the best wrestlers in the state of Ohio in 1971-72. At one point he was 24-1. There was a strong rumor that his only loss to that point was a disqualification due to an aggressive body slam of an over-matched opponent. He won the Columbus City Wrestling title in decisive fashion beating his Whetstone opponent in the finals by an overwhelming margin. The following week he likewise dominated the Sectional wrestling tournament in what was presumed to be the first leg of his march to the state wrestling title. In the sectional tournament he once again overwhelmed the same Whetstone wrestler. Seemingly inexplicably, in the semi-finals of the district meet the following week, he lost an 11-1 overtime decision to this same young man from Whetstone. That loss deprived Griffin of the chance to advance to the state finals the following week. When asked about this years later, Griffin, still obviously frustrated by this loss, admitted he wrestled in the district tournament with a bad flu, and simply ran out of energy in the match.

In that same year, another future Ohio State football standout, defensive lineman Pat Curto of Groveport, won the state wrestling title at 185 pounds. It was rumored both Griffin and Curto had hoped to continue their wrestling prowess at Ohio State--a notion purportedly quashed by coach Woody Hayes. The author of this note, a long time Ohio State fan, witnessed these events as a sectional and district champion at a lower weight class.