| John L. Griffith | |
| Birth Date: | 20 August 1877 |
| Birth Place: | Mount Carroll, Illinois, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | ?–1902 |
| Player Team1: | Beloit |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | c. 1903 |
| Coach Team2: | Yankton |
| Coach Years3: | 1905–1907 |
| Coach Team3: | Morningside |
| Coach Years4: | 1908–1915 |
| Coach Team4: | Drake |
| Coach Sport5: | Basketball |
| Coach Years6: | 1909–1910 |
| Coach Team6: | Drake |
| Coach Years7: | 1912–1914 |
| Coach Team7: | Drake |
| Admin Years1: | 1902–1905 |
| Admin Team1: | Yankton |
| Admin Years2: | 1905–1908 |
| Admin Team2: | Morningside |
| Admin Years3: | 1908–1918 |
| Admin Team3: | Drake |
| Admin Years4: | 1922–1944 |
| Admin Team4: | Big Ten (commissioner) |
| Overall Record: | 49–31–7 (football, excluding Yankton) |
John Lorenzo Griffith (August 20, 1877 – December 7, 1944) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the first commissioner of the Big Ten Conference from 1922 until his death in 1944.[1]
He married Allice Kelley on 17 Aug 1904. Alice was born 8 Nov 1879 in Waterford WI to Frances Beardsley Kelley and John Lawrence Kelley. She graduated Beloit College in Beloit, WI in 1901, and taught school. Alice died 20 Dec 1961 and is buried beside her husband in Oakhill Cemetery, Mount Carroll, Carroll County, Illinois. They had one child, John Lawrence Grffith, who was born in 1916 and died in 1984. He married Katherine Johnson who was born in 1917 and died in 2001. They both are interred in the Church of the Holy Comforter Columbarium in Winnetka IL.
Griffith was the head football coach at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa for three seasons, from 1905 until 1907. His coaching record at Morningside was 13–6–4.[2]
Griffith was the tenth head football coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, serving for eight seasons, from 1908 until 1915, compiling a record of 36–25–3.[3] During his time at Drake, he created the Drake Relays, in 1910.