The Topeka state journal., 1911-03-03

While there were not many bands
and not more than regiment of fans
down to see him off, there never was a
man who carried mtre of the good
will of his home city with him than
Griggs IS taking for another season in
the majors
And yet Topeka has seen little of his
playing in professional company. AS a
pitcher for Washburn college in the
days OF the Missouri Valley league in
Topeka, he used to humble the pro-
flesh. In college circles, he was the
champion long distance putter and the
small college managers are still look
ing for their lost balls. At this stage
of the game, Art also was carrying the
pigskin around in an easy though ag-
gressive manner which moved coaches
to tears. He served Washburn, Kan.
and the Western University of Penn
sylvania as a football back and then
cut the game.
1t was while he was a student at
Washburn and wanted to play baseball
that some one had the nerve to ques-
led to the discovery of GriggS as an
artist. The State Journal of that per-
iod reported as follows:
"Griggs is a student at the Reid
Stone art school, an auxiliary of
Washburn college. Albert T. Reid, the
well known cartoonist, is the dean of
this school and he states that Griggs
has positive talent for art work and
is doing good, faithful studying. A
story came out the other day that
Griggs was only taking one hours work
each day. Mr.. Reid emphatically de-
MED this story"
After completing his art education,
ARTHUR Griggs went out to Abilene
and helped them run up the State
League pennant. Then he moved up
into the Texas League and was the
head line topic of the circuit. Two
years ago he mounted to his ambition
: L.
st. Louis Browns. st. Louis papers
and fans touted Art Griggs as the best
ball player in the world and Art played
every position on the baseball map ex-
cept the pitchers which he had filed
long enough in his college career. But
the Brownies could not win and no.
body cared to play and nobody cared
TO see them play and that is bad for a
ball club. Manager Jack OConnor was
not the pleasaHtest chap in the world
and he did not hand any flowers to
Grigg5. The teammates also are re-
ported to have had a hankering to tor
Inent this new sensation and the later
reports had it that he had laid them
all out one at a time.
Anyhow the best of evidence has it
that Griggs was delighted to hear that
LaJoie had hoisted him from the
Brown pool.
IT am going to give them all I've got
this year." he said just before leav-
ing. "I was handicapped all last sea-
son with a bad eye but 1 am all right
now and never left better in my
life"
Griggs does not admit that any play
er on the Brown squad was Indifferent
81 played just as hard as I could all
the time. When a fellow gets into a
game, he can't help but want to win, -
he said.
'Of course I'm glad Tn going to the
Cleveland team but would have liked
70 play for. Bobby Wallace with the
Browns again. They will be a different
bunch this season."
The Maps are now in training at AL
exandria, La, GriggS is the last one
to report. And he is not any too anxi-
Gus to go down there, either. The
country is full of malaria. he says, and
he knows because he has spent pain
Of winters down in that region
Griggs has spent most of the past
winter in the open air and included g
hunting trip down in Texas and Ole
Mexico.
That the Cleveland team and fans
VIII receive him with open arms is in
dicated in a dispatch from the MAJ
camp which reads:
Many Of the major league scouts
who saw Art Griggs. the recently ac-
quired Nap, perform in the minors
cannot understand why he is not one
of the American League stars. Nc
player ever showed more ability as Z
busher than Griggs, yet there is nC
denying the fact that he has failed tC
develop into the star that was predict
ed he would.
lone thing that prevented Griggs from
showing to better advantage is the fac
that the st. Louis club has never really
given him a. chance to get acQHaintee
with any one position. Since Joining