GRIFFITH STADIUM (1923-1961) **************************** Also Known as: National Park (1911-1921) Clark Griffith Park (1922) ************************** HOME OF THE: WASHINGTON SENATORS This home-made ball park has been created for use with Diamond Mind Baseball v8. The dimensions and image are to depict the stadium as it looked in 1924. LFL L LFG C RFG R RFL *** *** *** *** *** *** *** DISTANCE: 358 375 390 423 409 378 326 HEIGHT: 11 11 11 31 31 31 31 1924 PARK FACTORS ***************** LEFT HANDED BATTERS RIGHT HANDED BATTERS ******************* ******************** S D T HR S D T HR *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 102 100 102 20 102 102 104 20 SURFACE: Natural Grass FOUL TERRITORY: Small The irregular shape of the center field wall came about because the owner of the land refused to sell. This resulted in the park being built around the parcel of land directly behind the right-center field wall, and accounts for the irregular shape of the center field wall. In addition to the Washington Senators, Griffith Stadium was also the home of the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League in the 1930's and 1940's. Actually the Grays had two home parks, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and Griffith Stadium. The Grays would play in Forbes Field as the Pittsburgh Homestead Grays when the Pirates were on the road, and in Griffith Stadium as the Washington Homestead Grays when the Senators were away. Other memorable moments at Griffith Stadium, ... September 29th, 1913: Walter Johnson of the Senators beats the Philadelphia Athletics, 1-0, for his thirty-sixth win of the season (against seven losses), and his eleventh shutout. October 10th, 1924: In the bottom of the 12th inning, of the 7th game of the World Series, a potential double play ground ball hits a pebble and bounces over New York Giants third basemen Freddie Lindstrom's head, giving the Senators the game, 4-3, and their first (and only) World Series championship. October 10th, 1925: In the third game of the World Series, Washington outfielder Sam Rice tumbles into the stands making a circus catch off a ball hit by Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Earl Smith; the call of "out" by umpire Cy Rigler is hotly disputed - but 50 years later, after Rice's death, a letter found amongst his effects attests that he did indeed catch the ball. July 7th, 1937: In the All-Star game, a line drive off the bat of Earl Averill hits pitcher Dizzy Dean on the foot, breaking his toe. As the season progressed, Dean tries to pitch before the injury is healed and thereby injures his pitching arm, impairing his effectiveness and ultimately ending his career prematurely. July 15th, 1952: Detroit Tiger first baseman Walt Droppo gets seven straight hits in seven times to the plate in a doubleheader win over Washington. The day before, Droppo had hit safely five times in a row, giving him a record twelve consecutive base hits. April 17th, 1953: New York Yankee outfielder Mickey Mantle, batting right-handed, hits a home run off Washington left-hander Chuck Stobbs that goes clear over the left-field wall and lands a guesstimated 565 feet from home plate. Many consider it to be the longest home run ever. The above comments are from the book: "Lost Ballparks - A Celebration of Baseball's Legendary Fields," by Lawrence S. Ritter. ***************************************** GRIFFITH STADIUM IS FROM THE CREATORS OF: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Baseball's Analytical Search Engine +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tdmilne Ron Gudykunst - ronlg@aol.com Tom Milne - tdmilne@compuserve.com