Journalist Mike Griffith joining Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame

When Mike Griffith got out of the military, he was eager to prove himself in the world.

That journey started at the Meridian Mall, working in the shoe section at American Eagle.

It was during his time there that Griffith encountered Lansing State Journal then-sports editor Steve Klein when Klein was purchasing boots for an upcoming trip to Calgary for the 1988 Winter Olympics.

That meeting opened a door in sports journalism for Griffith, who began answering phones at the LSJ while taking classes at Lansing Community College and then Michigan State University. That experience set the foundation for Griffith for a career in which he has proven himself at a national level.

Griffith, a Mason native, will be honored for his work as a sports journalist when he is inducted into the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame on Aug. 8.

“It’s a great honor,” Griffith said. “Growing up in Mason — going to Lansng was always a trip to the big city. Now to be honored in the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame — it’s not something that I would have anticipated when I started my career at the Lansing State Journal in 1987 as a sports stringer. It’s certainly something I aspired to as I went through the different stages of my career.

“I wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for these different members in the hall of fame.”

Griffith mentioned the influence of people such as Jack Ebling, Bob Every and Jim Hornberger. He has been proud to represent his hometown of Mason along the way as he went from starting his professional career in Idaho in 1991 to achieving his goal of covering Southeastern Conference football.

Griffith has spent 27 of the past 31 years covering the SEC, starting with Auburn in 1993 to stints covering Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. The only four years he didn’t cover the league came from 2012 to 2016 when he returned home to cover Michigan State football and basketball.

The Football Writers Association of America honored Griffith for his work by naming him its beat writer of the year in January 2018. Griffith has been active with the FWAA and started its freshman All-American team in 2001 and first-year coach of the year award in 2002.

While Griffith has been proud of the mark he’s made professionally and the opportunity to cover special teams, his roots in Greater Lansing remain just as important.

“(Mason) really made a difference in my life,” Griffith said. “It sounds so mushy and cliché, but when you get an honor like this, this is the stuff you think about. You don’t really think about I covered three undefeated teams and however many championship teams or won this writing award or that writing award. At the end of the day, it’s really about the people you interact with and the influence that they have on your life and the opportunities and windows they open and support they give you.

“I was fortunate to come across a lot of people that believed in me and supported me and helped me find my way to and through opportunities.”

Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.

48th Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame

When: Aug. 8; 4:30 — Welcome; 5:30 — Dinner; 6:30 — Induction ceremony

Where: Lansing Center

Tickets: $40 per person, call (517) 484-0677 or email [email protected] for information.

2024 inductees: Mike Griffith, Chris Henderson, Fred Heumann, Kelly Holland, Molly Peterman, Tiffanie Shives, Tony Trierweiler, Roge’t Ware, Roger Wing, 1991 East Lansing football, 1978 Laingsburg softball