Clark Griffith: The Old Fox of Washington Baseball

Famed Washington sportswriter Shirley Povich once said that Clark Griffith’s life was a true Horatio Alger story. Born in a frontier log cabin in Missouri in 1869, Griffith enjoyed a successful 64-year career in baseball that ended with his death in 1955. He spent 20 seasons as a major league pitcher, another 20 seasons as a manager--including five as the first manager of the New York Yankees--and 35 years as owner of the Washington Senators, where he won three American League pennants and the 1924 World Series. One of the game’s greatest ambassadors, Griffith made his lasting mark as a labor leader and as one of the founders of the American League in 1901. This biography chronicles the Old Fox’s long life in baseball, revealing in the process a vast trove of sporting history and illuminating the changing landscape of both baseball and American culture.

Ted Leavengood is managing editor of and a regular contributor to seamheads.com. He is the co-host of ＂Outta the Parkway,＂ which airs weekly on Blogtalk Radio as part of the Seamheads Podcast Network, and he is the author of two other books on Washington baseball history.