He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Rosslare and Newmarket-on Fergus with the Wexford and Clare senior inter-county teams in the 1960s.
[1] Born and raised in Rosslare, County Wexford, Griffin played both hurling and Gaelic football as a boarder at the De La Salle College in Waterford.
He won consecutive Corn Uí Mhuirí titles in 1964 and 1965, as well as captaining the college's Dr Harty Cup team to defeat by Limerick CBS in 1965.
[6] Griffin was also a member of the Wexford intermediate team in 1965 and won a Leinster IHC medal before being beaten by Cork in the 1965 All-Ireland home final.
[10] His first season in charge saw a mid-table finish for Wexford in Division 2 of the National League, before exiting the Leinster SHC after a defeat by Offaly.
Griffin retained the managerial position for a second season and guided Wexford to their first Leinster SHC title in 19 years after a 2-23 to 2-15 defeat of Offaly in the final.