The Washington times., 1925-02-25

the washington ball CLUB. Fol
three years previous, Griff had
managed Cincinnati in the Nationa.
League but he was familiar to
Washington fans as pitcher with
New York and Chicago. He haC
often appeared against our clut
at. Washington.
Bef5re Clark Griffith took over
the management, Washington had
never finished higher than sixth
place in the American League pen
nant race. In the nine years pre-
ceding his arrival the club had
landed in seventh place five times
and the other three years in the
cellar. Fans at the Capital were
so used to disappointment that ne
one expected Griffith TO do much
better than the men who went be-
fore him. namely Joe CantilIon
Jimmy McAleer, Jake Stahl, Pal
Donovan, Tom LOTUS and Jim
Manning.
but ''The Fox as Clark Grff.
fifth was called, fooled the Wash.
ington fans and the entire Ameri.
can League by making great
> fight for the pennant and finally
landing I'm second place. The
Boston Red Sox won the pennant
IN 1919 but Washington was
strong enough to wind up ahead
q the. World Champion Athletics
Of Philadelphia.
When Griff took hold. he discoy-
cred a combination of veteran play.
ers and good looking youngsters. He
had a strong pitching staff in Al
frock, Cashion, Engle, Vaughn,
Groom, Hughes, Walker, Becker,
Akers, White. Boeh1ing, Musser,
and Gallia. Also several others in
Guiding myself. Eddie Ainsmith
was q fine catcher and he had
Williams and Henry as assistants.
Griff did a lot Of experimenting
before the team had any balance,
but along midsummer we got going
And old time fans will remember
how. washington plowed through
the other clubs for seventeen vic.
tories in q row. AS I remember,
we won sixteen OF the games on
foreign grounds and didn't lose a
single contest on our western trip.
We cleaned up every club on the
season schedule with the exception
OF Boston and Philadelphia. We
broke even with the Red Sox but
Philadelphia took thirteen out OF
twenty. Connie Mack really cost
washington the pennant back that
year, although we finished higher
In the race than his former cham
pions.
There was one weak spot in our
lineup and one day Clark Griffith
startled the baseball world by an
nouncing that Washington had paid
$4,000 to Montreal for a first base
ioi,,ed o,,r cIIIh inst as the streak
IF sevanfeen wins was starting and
10. si,,oeiye1 T., the scIean.I i'm posifion
az 1920 ,,,,,.,Is r. ,,,or
49, 80 - IA f,.;n,,5
-. ,to,i
s.-s..-s - 80 49, a..-...s
- y - = ,.i-t<os, L,r;,,,,3,,e =
go. 49,; =, = ,s@,y,,
49, 80. 49,. 10y
when the season was over,
Clark :. Griffith had given the
Washington fans twenty four
more victories than any previous
year. The Capital City was at a
high pitch of excitement but all
the wise ones said Griff was Just
lucky and predicted that 1913
would see his baseball club back
In the second division.
But 1.-THE Fox" as they called him
fooled everybody for a second time
and washington landed in second
place again in 1913. Injuries to
Gandil. Foster. Shanks and Henry
were serious handicaps but Griff
always found a way 10 patch up
the damage and the team kept go
ing along with the leaders, right
down to the finish.
Those were the days when Gfifi
was ALWAYS CHALLENGING me. aeains,
the world. II seemed he tTIouqht
I.could heat. anv pitcber in The