Hampton Athletics Hall of Fame
A coach. An educator. A student-athlete. Dr. James Griffin did it all during his celebrated career at Hampton Institute.
As an athlete, “Little Train” was a standout quarterback on the football and track & field teams. In 1940, he was named to the Black All-American football team (1940) as well as earning All-CIAA honors. A 1940 Hampton graduate, he was the head football coach in 1940 and 1941 leading the Pirates to an 8-1-1 record and a berth in the Orange Blossom Classic in 1941.
On the track, he set the school mark in the 100-yard dash (9.6 seconds) and the 220-yard dash (21.3 seconds). He was a member of the mile relay team that won the Penn Relays College Division crown.
Following a stint in the U.S. Army during World War II, he returned to the university where he served as a member of the university’s faculty for 46 years. As track coach, Griffin established the Hampton Relays in 1950 and was the first state coach to use "sprint" baton hand-off. He was the first coach in Virginia to allow black and white athletes to compete together.
He was elected to the CIAA Hall of Fame (1980), the Lower Virginia Peninsula Hall of Fame (1992) and was honored by the university with “Jimmy Griffin Day” on Sept. 13, 1980. He was also active in the community and served on the Hampton School Board for eight years.
