Player #28E: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.
Deveaux explains how Griffith came to be the largest stockholder in Washington: Now coming upon his 42nd birthday (in 1912, after resigning during the previous season as manager of the New York Highlanders), Clark Griffith had thoughts of becoming a stockholder himself. Having pitched for 16 years in the majors and been manager for 11, he undoubtedly considered the fact that only he, of the three main founders of the American League, had yet to achieve the kind of financial success enjoyed by Ban Johnson and Charles Comiskey. Even his old teammate, Jimmy McAleer, was becoming an owner at Boston. Although he couldn't afford to back himself up financially, Griffith made an offer to buy as large a piece of the team as the stockholders were willing to sell. The deal fell through when many of the stockholders tried to jack up the share price to turn a quick profit.
Then, Griffith's pal, club president Tom Noyes, and Edward Walsh offered to sell their shares to Griffith for what they had cost them. They also drew their partner, Ben Minor, in on the same deal. Noyes was suggesting selling their combined 1,200 shares at $12.50, and that Griffith should also shell out the $15 per share the other shareholders wanted for another 800 shares. A total of 2,000 shares would give Griffith a tenth interest in the Washington Senators and also, more impressively, make him the largest single shareholder in the club.
Griffith turned his energies toward finding the money to do the deal. Ban Johnson had promised a $10,000 loan when Griffith had first heard of the Washington possibility, but now Johnson balked. Relations between the two became strained as a result. Clark Griffith got no support from Charles Comiskey. The Chisox owner told him he would be crazy to sink any money into a club located in "that baseball graveyard" known as Washington.
Griffith nonetheless proceeded to give Noyes all of his own cash assets, an amount of $8,000. He needed $19,000 more, and Noyes agreed to wait two weeks for it. Years before, the Old Fox had invested in a ranch at Craig, Montana. His older brother Earl had been running it for him, and now it was Griffith's salvation. The First National Bank of Montana consented to a $20,000 mortgage on the ranch. Griffith rushed back to Washington with the cash, and signed a three-year contract on October 27, 1911, which would pay him the grand sum of $7,500 a year. Thus began the career in Washington of the man whose name was to become synonymous with Senators baseball. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
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