Thirty years ago, Jim Abbott taught a generation of sports fans that a disability did not have to be a disqualifier. Abbott believes Shaquem Griffin can communicate a similar lesson about willpower with his push to become an NFL football player.
The two men are joined by a similar life circumstance – both proved to the world that they could excel at their respective sports despite playing with only one hand – and Abbott says they share a similar ability to inspire, even if 22-year-old Griffin might not fully appreciate that yet.
“That’s why I’m such a big fan of Shaquem,” said Abbott, who was born without a right hand, but still became one of the most decorated college baseball players in history and spent 10 seasons pitching in Major League Baseball. “When I was going through it, I wanted to be a baseball player. I don’t know that I ever completely embraced the idea of being a role model or was doing it for any of those reasons other than pursuing my passion and what I loved to do.
“I’m sure he probably feels a little bit of the same now, but as a little bit of time comes into it, you start to appreciate the impact you can have. It really spreads and people are inspired. Who would have thought that so many people connect with it in such an important way?”
But connect with it they do.
Abbott must experience feelings of déjà vu when he sees the way the public has responded to Griffin’s NFL quest. Griffin might have first garnered attention because he was a one-handed college linebacker – he was born with a prenatal condition called amniotic band syndrome that forced his left hand to be amputated at age 4 – but his relentless style of play is what turned intrigued observers into fans.
He won the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and followed that by helping his Central Florida team post an undefeated record in 2017. When the Knights clinched that perfect season by upsetting Auburn in the Peach Bowl, Griffin earned game defensive MVP honors by dominating against an Auburn offensive line that ranked among the SEC’s best.
Griffin soon earned a late invitation to the Senior Bowl all-star game and promptly blew everyone away, earning recognition as the top prospect of the week in practice. The Houston Texans coaching staff, who led Griffin’s team for the week, showcased his versatility by using Griffin at linebacker, defensive back and as a situational pass rusher.
“As the week went on, it became evident that they were just trying to show just how good of a football player he is, how versatile he is,” said Rob Rang, senior analyst at NFLDraftScout.com. “Because regardless of the position they put him in – safety, linebacker, defensive end, on kick and punt coverage – it was almost impossible to take your eyes off of him, and not because of his lack of a left hand, but because he was the player usually making the big play.”
As with Griffin, the uniqueness of Abbott’s story is what initially made it national news. However, it was Abbott’s ability that filled his trophy case.
Abbott, 50, rose to prominence in the 1980s by winning a boatload of college baseball awards for the Michigan Wolverines, and then he helped the United States win a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics. The California Angels selected him eighth overall in the 1988 MLB draft, and he made the club out of spring training the next year without having pitched a single game in the minor leagues.
He went 12-12 that season, finishing fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting, then posted an 18-11 record with a 2.89 ERA to finish third in AL Cy Young Award balloting in 1991. In 1993, he pitched a no-hitter as a member of the New York Yankees.
Rather than view his limb difference as an obstacle that easily could have prevented him from playing baseball at the highest level, Abbott has a different viewpoint. He believes it instilled a competitive drive that was fundamental to his success.
So don’t ask Abbott if Griffin’s football success surprises him. It doesn’t.
“That’s what I found in my life, that being a little bit different and having to do things differently provides a determination that may not have been there otherwise,” Abbott said. “So I’m not surprised, really. I think it opens a lot of doors and a lot of eyes about what can be done on a football field.”
Griffin seems to share that perspective. He tells reporters that he appreciates the attention he receives these days – for whatever reason that attention comes – because it wasn’t long ago that nobody was interested. He understands that pro scouts might be skeptical about his ability to hold down an NFL roster spot, but wants the deciding factor to be ability, not that he is attempting to become the first one-handed player in the NFL’s modern era.
“I remember there was a time where I had a Little League coach who was telling me that this game’s for two-handed players. I’ve read plenty of rule books and I’ve never seen that rule,” Griffin told reporters at a Senior Bowl press conference. “Hearing things like that, I had to take it upon myself to make sure that I showed them no matter if I have one hand, two hands or 30 hands, I can play football.”
One seems to be enough. Griffin proved that he is a legitimately draftable prospect at the Senior Bowl, earning an invitation to March’s NFL Scouting Combine as a result. But Rang doesn’t simply view him as a prospect whose name will get called somewhere in the draft’s seven rounds.
“I’ll say this: I think there’s going to be a lot of teams that don’t draft him — obviously, 31 of them — that are going to wish they did when it’s all said and done,” Rang said. “If he is undrafted, he’s going to make a team. And I believe that he will get drafted and that team is going to be very happy with him because I think he’s a legitimate NFL player on defense as well as special teams.”
Griffin’s accomplishments to date already make for a happy tale, but if he actually makes it in the NFL, that will turn into one of the year’s leading feel-good stories in sports.
Riding in the front seat of his fan bandwagon will be a retired pitcher and current motivational speaker who, although he has not met Griffin, understands his challenges all too well.
“I saw him on TV and was like, ‘Holy cow, this is great,’ and then I started following different people who are rooting for him,” Abbott said. “Then this year they had such an incredible year, so it was really fun. I’ve read about him and heard his story and I’m just really inspired by him and proud of him.”
In that regard, Abbott joins a club whose membership seems to grow by the day.
