He is 81 now, a cancer survivor, and a daily walker. He and his wife live in the same Narragansett house they bought in 1976, when they moved to Rhode Island from Pocatello, Idaho. Their three children and seven grandchildren are thriving. He still follows college football.
I thought of Bob Griffin this Christmas season because 36 years ago he gave us a gift we did not fully appreciate at the time: consecutive 10-3 records, back-to-back Yankee Conference championships, NCAA tournament appearances, and a brand of wide open football that had URI fans as excited as kids bounding downstairs on Christmas morning. We all thought the victories would go on season after season, but they didn’t.
Memories of those glory days came flooding back after I went into the eaves, opened my box of old media guides and found the 1984 and 1985 playoff booklets that the late, great sports information director and Voice of the Rams Jim Norman compiled. Quarterback Tom Ehrhardt shattered New England passing records in his two seasons at URI, breaking marks set by Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie at Boston College. Brian Forster was the finest tight end in America as he broke receiving records set by Mississippi Valley State’s Jerry Rice. Yes, Jerry Rice, who went on to a Hall of Fame career as a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers. Dameon Reilly was a record-setting wide receiver.
In 1984 and 1985, nobody put the ball in the air like Bob Griffin’s URI Rams. First and goal at the 5-yard line was a passing down. Somebody dubbed the offense the Ehr Force, and it stuck.
I had not talked to Bob in more than a decade and wondered how he was doing. So I called him at home this week. He answered on the second ring. I asked if he had a few minutes, he said yes, and we slipped into an easy conversation, much as we had when I covered the Rams and college football for The Providence Journal. I would drop by his office at lunch time, watch while he mixed some kind of healthy shake in a jar, and then question him about the coming opponent. We’d talk for about 45 minutes. This one went 1 hour and 24 minutes.
I asked about his family. “I’m blessed. I have seven grandchildren, and things have worked out well for them Obviously I am very proud of them,” he said.
First, his children. Michael, there bare-footed kicker for those great teams, is associate vice president for alumni relations at Fordham University. Kevin played quarterback at Trinity in the late 1980s and has held executive positions in the retail world. Amy Roy is a guidance counselor at Westerly High School.
Four grandchildren are out of college. Amy’s daughter Emily is a neonatal unit nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in New London. She spent her first year out of school on the COVID floor. Her sister Megan is also working, Bob said.
Kevin’s son Sean graduated at the top of his class at Holy Cross and is a project manager for Toll Brothers, the high-end home builder. His other son Daniel works in Phoenix.
Michael’s sons, triplets Luke, Nick and Ben Griffin, are high-school freshmen.
Roseanne Griffin is still at Bob’s side. She turned 79 on Dec. 17 but “doesn’t look 79,” Bob said with more than a hint of admiration.
The entire family will gather at Amy’s house for Christmas.
Bob was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2005. He had chemotherapy followed by an annual checkup for 15 years. “Last summer my oncologist said, ‘You’re done. You’re free.’ I didn’t suffer. It wasn’t difficult for me. I was a little nervous going through it, but I believed things would work out, and they did,” he told me.
Bob walks daily and logs 32 miles per week. He had been doing 36 miles, but when his weight dropped to 160 pounds, his pulmonologist told him to walk less and eat more. He weighs a healthy 170 now.
As you might expect, the conversation turned to football. He noted the skyrocketing salaries for coaches at the top, expressed reservations about players being paid, and supported the transfer portal in many cases. Then we talked about the glory days at URI, 1981 to 1985, but especially ’84 and ’85. There were so many stories.
Ehrhardt transferred to URI when C.W. Post announced it was dropping to Division III. His older brother Bob had played at URI when Griffin was an assistant in the late 1960s, but Tom had wanted to stay close to home. Forster was good enough to play at Syracuse or BC but recruiters shied away because of his reputation as a tough guy at Danvers High School in Massachusetts. Defensive stalwart Charlie Bounty transferred from Rutgers. Bob Dana, another dominant lineman, wasn’t happy in his backup role at Michigan and switched to URI. Reilly, the best wide receiver ever to play for the Rams, came from Nassau Community College, where he played football for the first time. Tailback Rich Kelley transferred from Army and ran for 800 yards in 1984. Tony Hill was a pro prospect in the secondary. Quarterback Tony DiMaggio switched to tight end and became a star.
And then there were the games. Homecoming 1984. BU. 13,000 fans pack Meade Stadium. URI wins, 22-7. Lehigh, 1985. With the score tied, 38-38, Griffin goes for it on fourth and three at the URI 12. Ehrhardt tosses to Dave Morrill for four yards and a first down. URI wins on an Erhhardt-to-Forster strike with 12 seconds to play. UConn, 1985. Season finale at Meade. UConn leads 42-28 at the half. The situation looks so bleak that Roseanne leaves and walks to the Upper Campus. Griffin tells his defense to hold UConn to one more touchdown “and we’ll win this thing.” The defense holds the Huskies scoreless, URI scores four times and wins, 56-42. Ehrhardt completes 40 of 60 passes for 566 yards and eight touchdowns. Forster catches 16 for 205 yards and four TDs. Reilly grabs nine for 204 yards and four TDs. Griffin kicks eight PATS. Record fall. As Roseanne returns, she hears the noise, sees the scoreboard and is happy.
And we reviewed the two playoff losses. In the 1984 NCAA semifinal at Montana State, URI led 20-18 and was driving for the score that would have decided the outcome. On third and eight at the 13, Ehrhardt spotted an open receiver at the goal line. Had the ball arrived a second earlier, it would have been a touchdown. But it didn’t. Strong safety Joe Roberts stepped in front, intercepted at the 3-yard line and went 97 yards for the game-changing touchdown.
“I thought about tackling him when he came down the sideline,” Bob said with a chuckle.
URI fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Montana State scored again for the 32-20 final. Many observers considered that the championship game. A week later Montana State did win the title.
In 1985 URI traveled to Furman for the NCAA quarterfinals. Doug Haynes returned the opening kickoff to the Furman 9, but the Rams had to settle for a field goal. Furman returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, the beginning of a 59-15 blowout.
Bob has not wondered how the game would have played had Haynes gone all the way, or if Ehrhardt had found somebody in the end zone for a TD pass.
“We knew Furman had a great football team,” he said. “They beat North Carolina State, 42-14.”
URI was never the same after that. The Ehr Force graduated. Bob suspended Forster for the 1986 season because he was skipping classes. “A difficult decision,” he said. URI managed one winning season in the next seven.
“We dropped off a cliff. I think complacency set it in the whole program. I think a lot of guys playing were decent guys but not as good as the guys playing before them. In 1992 we were not very good at all (1-10), and that was the end of it.”
Coaching stints in Germany and at Syracuse, Holy Cross, and URI again followed. Bob also helped out with high-school programs on Cape Cod and at Westerly.
Bob Griffin won more football games at URI, 79, than any coach before or since. He also lost 107 games. He won and lost with class. During the lean years he never showed the frustration he must have felt. Last year, Ehrhardt and safety Guy Carbone told Steve McDonald, the current Voice of the Rams, that Bob Griffin was a man of character and integrity. He still is.
So, Merry Christmas, Bob, and thank you for the gift of 1984-85 URI football. It’s still a thrill to remember them today.