31 Facts About Calvin Griffith

Calvin Robertson Griffith, born Calvin Griffith Robertson, was a Canadian-born American Major League Baseball team owner.

Calvin Griffith was famous for his devotion to the game and for his sayings.

Calvin Griffith was born in Montreal, Quebec, as Calvin Griffith Robertson, the son of James A Robertson and the former Jane Barr Davies.

Calvin Griffith's father was a native of the Shetland Islands who emigrated to Canada and became a minor league baseball player.

Clark and Addie Calvin Griffith had been concerned for some time about James' alcoholism.

Calvin Griffith was a batboy for the Senators, including during their 1924 World Series championship.

The senior Griffith owned the Senators until his death at age 85 in October 1955; the team then passed into the hands of Calvin, 43, who had worked his way up through a variety of positions since the 1920s.

Under Calvin's ownership, the left-field dimensions of cavernous Griffith Stadium were immediately shortened.

Calvin Griffith invested in Washington's traditionally weak farm system and scouting operations.

Calvin Griffith added Triple-A affiliates, first in 1956 and then, for good, in 1960.

Calvin Griffith began to invest, cautiously, in bonus babies, with Killebrew a notable success.

Calvin Griffith obtained young talent like Earl Battey, who was the team's starting catcher from 1960 to 1967, and power-hitting prospect Don Mincher, both acquired for Sievers in April 1960, and starting pitcher Jack Kralick, signed as a minor league free agent the previous season.

The Senators still owned their home ballpark, but Washington was considering building a new, publicly financed facility in a location Calvin Griffith disliked, saying it was too far from the team's traditional fan base in the District's northwest suburbs.

Calvin Griffith initially been skeptical of moving the Senators there because of Minnesota's harsh winters, but was sold on the area when the Senators played an exhibition against the Philadelphia Phillies shortly after the 1958 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Well aware of the bitter century-long rivalry between Minneapolis and St Paul, Calvin Griffith was determined not to offend fans on either side of the Mississippi River.

Calvin Griffith shrewdly acquired two starting pitchers, Jim Perry and Mudcat Grant, in separate transactions with the Cleveland Indians.

Calvin Griffith's efforts came together when the 1965 Twins broke the Yankees' stranglehold and won 102 games and the American League pennant.

Calvin Griffith was named Major League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News.

Calvin Griffith was known for being a penny-pincher, as his uncle had been, and was either unable or unwilling to compete with owners who had access to more money.

Additionally, Metropolitan Stadium, which had been the biggest factor in Calvin Griffith's move west, was already obsolete despite being just over 20 years old.

However, Calvin Griffith initially balked at signing a 30-year lease at the new stadium, instead opting for a provision that allowed the Twins to break the lease if average attendance fell below 1.4 million or the average attendance for the American League as a whole, whichever was lesser.

The last five full seasons of Calvin Griffith's ownership witnessed only two.

In 1973, as one of the Junior Circuit's longest-serving owners, Calvin Griffith was elected vice president of the American League, a post once held by his late uncle Clark; he served in the position into the 1980s.

In 1984, Calvin Griffith sold the Twins to Minneapolis banker Carl Pohlad on August 15.

Calvin Griffith stayed on for a time as chairman of the board.

Calvin Griffith was quoted last year as saying that rookie center fielder Jim Eisenreich was 'doomed to be an All-Star'.

Calvin Griffith began to make comments about specific players and about race in general.

Carew claimed that Calvin Griffith was "the first person" he called after being inducted.

Calvin Griffith died on October 20,1999, at the age of 87 from complications related to pneumonia, a kidney infection and a high fever.

Calvin Griffith was buried in Washington, DC, a city he rarely visited after moving the Senators to Minnesota.

Calvin Griffith was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.