When the next chapter of Washington’s baseball history is written this spring, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium will once again become a focal point of this city’s attention. Since the Redskins moved out in 1997, it has mostly been a soccer field. And no matter how much D.C. United and MLS hype Freddy Adu, chances are you haven’t stopped by in some time. As you’re standing in line to see the Nationals in the coming months, you may notice the memorial to Clark Griffith, owner of the first Senators ballclub. It’s an odd remembrance for somebody whose increasingly forgettable family name was so entwined with the awkward rise and fall of Washington baseball.
DCist placed a call to the DC Sports Commission, which oversees RFK Stadium, to see if anybody knew a thing about it. “Not anymore,” came the reply. RFK’s staff is minimal these days, and they’re looking toward the future, not the past. But this town has a baseball past, embodied in a white, cubic monument that might just remind you of the old Atari logo. It’s in decent shape, even if Griffith’s nose has fallen off, Sphinx-like. In cursive, he’s identified as “The Old Fox.”
Clark Calvin Griffith entered baseball in 1891 as a pitcher for teams with names like the Boston Red Stockings. After stringing together a number of 20-win seasons, Griffth retired from play and was managing by 1903. For a time he led a team called the New York Highlanders, who would later change their name to the “Yankees”. Ultimately he settled in D.C., where he managed the Senators from 1912-1920. In 1920 he bought the team and kept it until his death in 1955. Griffith also was a co-founder of the American League and oversaw the 1924 World Series-winning team, Washington’s only one (so far).
