Greg Griffith to be Inducted into Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame

By Mark H. Stowers

Greg Griffith came to Mississippi Delta Junior College with the dream of playing defensive end for the late Trojan Head Football Coach Jim Randall. As a freshman in 1972, Griffith signed on at Moorhead after graduating from Indianola Academy where he helped the Colonels to a state championship.

"I was about 195 pounds and Coach Randall told me if I could get up to about 210 I could play linebacker," Griffith recalled. "I did that for three games then he and Coach (Jimmy) Bellipanni called me in the office. They said, 'We want to switch you to offensive tackle.' And my neck still feels like it has gravel in it from making that move."

The switch from defense to offense helped make the Trojans better all-around and led to two straight State Championships. In his sophomore season, the left tackle made All-Conference. He would sign at Delta State along with several other Trojan teammates.

"I was a member of back-to-back State Championship teams," Griffith said. "We were a running offense. We didn't pass much. I don't think we had but about six or seven plays to each side."

The Hall of Famer notes his coaches knew how to sculpt the team.

"We practiced those same plays over and over and over. I tell folks, you can run the football but you've got to practice, practice, practice because it's all about timing," he said.

Griffith, a member of the MDCC Athletic Hall of Fame, explained he had the same reaction when he was told he was now a member of the Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame.

"I was shocked," he said. "I'm an offensive lineman. We didn't get patted on the back. We only got called out for holding and clipping. It is by far the proudest thing I've had in my athletic career."

The Hall of Famer knows his coaches got the most out of him.

"They looked us in the eyes and told us what they expected out of us. Only one thing counted and that was winning. It didn't matter if it was seven to nothing or 49 to nothing."

After graduating from Delta State with his BBA in Marketing, Griffith first worked as a Field Rep for the National Cotton Council. With Massey Ferguson and then found a career in the catfish industry with Delta Pride selling catfish from 1985 to 2021 when he retired.