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Rucker Archives
Journal Articles
Calvin Griffith: The Ups and Downs of the last Family-Owned Baseball Team
When Calvin Griffith sold the Minnesota Twins in 1984, he bowed out of baseball as the last of the family owners whose franchise represented their principal business and source of wealth. Griffith spent practically his entire life in baseball, spending his young adulthood working in one capacity or another for the Washington Nationals organization that […]
The Joe Cronin Trade And the Senators’ Decline
Washington is the only city to have lost two major-league teams. In its last twenty-five years as an American League franchise, the nation’s Capital never even reached the first division. But its greatest single misfortune may have taken place on October 26, 1934, when owner Clark Griffith sent Joe Cronin to the Red Sox for […]
Late in the Game: The Integration of the Washington Senators
On September 6, 1954, more than seven years after Jackie Robinson stepped onto the diamond at Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Carlos Paula trotted out to left field at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. He was the first black to appear in a regular sea son lineup of the Washington Senators. This event, while […]
1938 Winter Meetings: Out of the Hat
Introduction and Context In 1938, the major leagues returned to New York City for the winter meetings, while the minor leagues held their meetings in New Orleans for the first time since 1916. The minor leagues sought to promote uniformity, and with the nation’s economy beginning to emerge from the Great Depression, several minor leagues […]
The Washington Senators in Wartime
Keeping it Alive: The Proactive Clark Griffith At age 72, Clark Griffith again faced the challenge of maintaining the operations and financial stability of his “small market” team, the Washington Senators, during a world war. The Senators, by population, were the smallest team in major-league baseball. During World War I, the major leagues continued to […]
Game Stories
April 28, 1901: Overflow crowd aids White Sox’ record 23 singles in Clark Griffith’s AL debut
Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey anticipated that his outfit would be competitive and draw strong crowds during the American League’s first season as a declared major league in 1901, but even he was taken aback by how many fans descended upon South Side Park on April 28 for the first Sunday game of the […]