Griese Proved Skeptics Wrong On Way To Pro Hall Of Fame

CUTLINE: BOB GRIESE, MIAMI'S BESPECTACLED QUARTERBACK, SCRAMBLES OUT OF A CRUMPLING POCKET AGAINST THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS IN 1977.

CUTLINE: TOM LANDRY: COWBOY COACH

A smallish, injury-prone quarterback who was legally blind, drank milkshakes while his teammates were drinking beer and threw passes only when necessary has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Bob Griese, who led the Miami Dolphins to nine winning seasons and victories in Super Bowls VII and VIII, was enshrined yesterday in Canton, Ohio, with Tom Landry, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, Buck Buchanan, Ted Hendricks and Bob St. Clair.

Griese, who became famous as the first pro quarterback to wear glasses and for his poise in leading a classic ball-control offense, was elected to the Hall last January, exactly one decade after his retirement as a player. He had a remarkable 14-year Dolphin career in which he survived frequent injuries.

``What does a guy have to do to get into the Hall of Fame?'' Griese's coach, Don Shula, growled after Griese was rejected by electors the previous year.

``Bob had the perfect mental approach,'' Shula said. ``He was the master of the position of quarterback. He knew the people and how to use them. He knew defenses inside and out.''

Griese faced the same rap that has been laid unkindly on Green Bay's Bart Starr over the years. Just as skeptics claimed all Starr had to do was hand off to Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, Griese's critics pointed out that his principal contributions were handing off to Miami's great runners - Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris.

Griese threw the football only when he had to. But he threw it very, very well. In his rookie season, 1967, he completed 50.2 percent of his passes, 15 for touchdowns, and set an American Football League record by throwing 122 straight passes without an interception. A decade later, in 1977, Griese led the National Football League with 22 TD passes, 12 of them to Nat Moore.

But over the years, the 6-foot-1-inch, 190-pound Griese was basically the general of the Dolphins' finely honed ball-control attack. Whatever he may have lacked in size and arm strength, he made up in grit and intelligence.

``Bob is probably the most unselfish guy I've ever been around,'' Shula once said. ``He gets as big a thrill calling the right running play for a touchdown as he does connecting on a bomb. That's just his makeup.''

Griese's slight build made him a pet target of opposing pass-rushers. Injuries constantly plagued him. He missed nine games in 1972, five in 1969, four in 1975, five in 1978 and 11 in 1980.

Griese's eyes also were a problem. He was legally blind with 20-200 vision in his right eye, and his contact lenses tended to fog up. He finally began wearing glasses in 1977.

Griese had been out of action for nine weeks with a broken leg in 1972 when Earl Morrall, who had played superbly throughout the season to keep the Dolphins unbeaten, fell behind 10-7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third quarter of the AFC title game.

Shula benched Morrall and sent in Griese, who passed only five times but guided Miami on TD marches of 80 and 49 yards to a 21-17 victory. Two weeks later, in Super Bowl VII, the Dolphins whipped Washington 14-7 behind Griese to complete a 17-game sweep and cap the NFL's only perfect season.

Griese captained the baseball, basketball and football teams at Rex Mundi High School in Evansville, Ind. His father died when Bob was 10, and his only means of going to college would be an athletic scholarship.

Dozens of scholarship offers poured into the Griese residence during his senior year. Griese's preference was Notre Dame, but the Irish canceled a scheduled campus visit.

Griese then picked Purdue, where, as a junior, he clicked on 19 of 22 passes to lead the Boilermakers to a 25-21 victory over Notre Dame.

Griese was considered too small for the pro game by many scouts. But the Dolphins' astute personnel director, Joe Thomas, took a chance and made him the fourth player taken in the first combined AFL-NFL draft in 1967.

Dolphin veterans at first nicknamed Griese ``Straight Arrow'' because he was soft-spoken and clean-living. Derisively, the old guard spoke of their ``milkshake quarterback.''

Griese quickly changed their minds with his gutsy play and field generalship. He refused to take credit for being a football mastermind, despite his intelligence and uncanny ability to read defenses.

``There's no great mystery to quarterbacking,'' he said. ``You move personnel around in various formations, looking for the defense's patsy, and then you eat him alive.''