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"Old Smoky" Still On Top

A Biography of Adam David Griffith

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Go back and check through the names -- from Buddy Pope in the late 1940s to Corey Booker of the present-day Wildcats -- Oak Ridge, Tennessee High School has one of the state's top traditions of standout running backs.

But none of the Oak Ridge greats accomplished what Dave Griffith did in 1951.

During the Wildcats' 9-2 season, Griffith piled up a whopping 2,677 yards in total offense. That record still stands some 51 years later.

Shaun Bohanon, who accumulated 2,525 total yards in 1996, has come closer than any Wildcat to topping Griffith's mark. However, it took Bohanon 14 games to do it.

Griffith had a season to remember in 1951 from his tailback slot.

	After breaking his collarbone in 1950 and missing the last half of the season, Griffith took over for All-South tailback Tom McGrew in 1951. Griffith ran for 185 yards and two TDs as the Wildcats opened the season with a 39-13 win over Rhea County.
	Griffith, otherwise known as "Old Smoky," returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards against Chattanooga Notre Dame in a 31-6 win. the 100--yard return is still a school record. In another game, Griffith had a 97-yard touchdown run from scrimmage.

Griffith went on to earn first-team All-Southern and All-State honors that season as Oak Ridge wound up ranked No. 2 in the state of Tennessee.

Dave Griffith was a 1952 graduate of Oak Ridge High School and captain of the school's football team and member of the track team. His senior year, he led the Wildcats, scoring most points for the season and led the team in individual honors that year.

He received recognition in two All American high school selections for East Tennessee and was named to the All Southern Squad and the Tennessee Team. The Oak Ridge High School team was voted second in the state by the Associated Press. A local sports writer at the time said the All-State halfback and other team members had "gone farther than any Wildcat contingent before them."

The team won the post-season game at the Lions Bowl and at the football banquet, Dave Griffith was presented with the first Roy Lotspeich Memorial Award for being the outstanding athlete in East Tennessee. The award was named for a former Knoxville Journal publisher.

He was a member of the Oak Ridge High School track team that won the first state track and field title. In the 880-yard relay, the team came within one-tenth of a second in tying the record for that event.

After graduation, Dave Griffith enrolled at the University of Tennessee in the fall of 1952. He played on the freshman football team. He was promoted to the varsity team, under coach General Robert Neyland, at the beginning of the season after a player was injured. He played for two years under Neyland, who called him "the most elusive runner" he'd had since Johnny Butler, considered another longtime football great.

Dave Griffith transferred to Memphis State University where he broke the school record in the 100-yard dash at 9.8 seconds. He was a graduate of Memphis State and had a master's degree from the University of North Alabama in Florence.

He was a football coach and teacher in Savannah, Tenn., Dayton, Ohio, and Plainfield, Ind. During his coaching career at Dixie High School in Lebanon, Ohio, his team had two undefeated seasons and was runner-up for the state championship title.