{"id":28237,"date":"2014-07-14T11:26:31","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T15:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seamheads.com\/?p=28237"},"modified":"2014-07-14T16:48:02","modified_gmt":"2014-07-14T20:48:02","slug":"could-a-washington-baseball-hall-of-fame-museum-unite-the-citys-baseball-legacies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/14\/could-a-washington-baseball-hall-of-fame-museum-unite-the-citys-baseball-legacies\/","title":{"rendered":"Could a Washington Baseball Hall of Fame Museum Unite the City’s Baseball Legacies?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is still a hole in the middle of the Washington, DC baseball tradition that is thirty-four years wide and many of the great moments in the city’s bountiful Major League Baseball history remain lost inside it. Much of that memorable history occurred at old Griffith Stadium and when it was torn down after the first Washington Nationals team–renamed the Senators in 1956–left town, that heritage was at risk.<\/p>\n

One cannot miss the statue of Walter Johnson that greets visitors to Nationals Park where the current embodiment of Major League Baseball lives and breathes and the Lerner family, the current owners of the team, has done an admirable job of honoring Hall of Fame players like Johnson and others. There are story boards along the internal aisle in the area of the stadium behind home plate, and while that does much to capture the imagination of young fans, it is hard to imagine how the story told there is adequate to pass on the Washington legacy of World Series victories and Hall of Fame players like Griffith, Johnson, Bucky Harris, Heinie Manush and Goose Goslin.<\/p>\n

The great players who have worn the Washington uniform are in the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, NY and that shrine is the finest tribute to excellence in the game that one could possibly imagine. But there are also local baseball museums to honor the legacy of players and their teams scattered around the country. The Babe Ruth Museum is in Baltimore just a stone’s throw from Camden Yards. The Negro League Hall of Fame is in Kansas City and many players from Bob Feller to Shoeless Joe Jackson have local tributes to their careers.<\/p>\n

Cities like Chicago and Tampa are in the process of establishing their own museums to capture the wider history of baseball within their geographic locale. And the efforts of cities across the country to honor their greatest baseball legends begs the question as to when Washington, DC will try to fill the gaping hole with its own museum to Clark Griffith, Bucky Harris and the boys who won it all back in the day.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>

Looking at the house from 16th Street<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the last edifices that harks back to the golden era of baseball in Washington, DC is the Clark Griffith House, built in 1926 by Clark Griffith with the proceeds he garnered from the two World Series appearances of his teams in 1924 and 1925. It is a beautiful legacy to the man and his times. In it he and his wife Addie raised their nephew, Calvin, and niece, Thelma, that they informally adopted several years before the house was built. Calvin inherited his uncle’s team after Clark Griffith’s death late in 1955. He moved the team to Minnesota where it remains to this day as the Twins. Calvin told Jon Kerr in the biography, Calvin<\/em>, “That house was so damn beautiful it was unbelievable,” describing the ornate woodwork and carvings by Italian artisans.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

The house was designed by James Cooper, a prominent Washington architect of the period, who was born in Rockville, MD. Cooper began practicing as a partner in a New York City firm where he did the New York City Yacht Club and the Belmont Hotel. He returned to the Washington area where his first design was built in 1922.  He was known for his love of the Tudor and English revival styles and oversaw the construction of 330 structures of varying scope. Cooper designed embassy buildings in the Kalorama area of Washington, DC and perhaps his most notable achievement was the Foxhall Village Subdivision that contains some of the most prominent homes in the DC area to this day.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Decatur<\/a>

Decatur Street Entrance<\/p><\/div>\n

Addie Griffith was of Scottish ancestry and wanted a house that resonated with her own roots and working with Cooper was a perfect fit. The house featured baseball themed highlights such as domed lights that were decorated as baseballs and brick work that displayed baseball diamonds in their center. Clark Griffith was famous for his ties to Washington’s political elite and he entertained them at this house that was located on 16th Street, just a few miles north of the White House. The address was 4720 16th Street, NW at the corner of Decatur Street.<\/p>\n

In the adjacent picture the main entrance off Decatur Street is shown where a circular drive welcomed visitors. Close examination of the facade shows that the house has fallen into minor disrepair. Addie Griffith died in 1957, two years after her husband and the house was sold shortly thereafter to help the cash-strapped Calvin Griffith operate the Washington Senators franchise in its last years in the city.<\/p>\n

In 1959 he sold the house to Smallwood Williams, the founder of the Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Williams started as a sidewalk preacher, but became a prominent member of the DC community in his own right and his church on New Jersey Avenue, near the intersection with New York Avenue, was a large and successful presence in the local religious community. The Griffith House served as Smallwood’s residence until he died in 1991. In the years that followed his death, the church splintered and the Griffith House subsequently has suffered from deferred maintenance and by all indications the house is largely empty now.<\/p>\n

Preliminary discussions have been held with the Washington, DC State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to determine whether the house is a significant enough local landmark for designation on the National Register of Historic Places. James Cooper’s Foxhall Village subdivision was placed on the National Register in 2007 largely on the basis of his historic design style and the prominence of the persons who live there. A similar claim can be made for the Griffith House as one built for the owner of the Washington Nationals and then subsequently for a prominent local theologian.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the house could serve as an excellent site for a baseball Hall of Fame Museum to honor not only Clark Griffith, but the legacy of his time. Griffith Stadium was home not only to the Washington Nationals professional baseball club, but also the Homestead Grays. The house provides an opportunity to link the great traditions of Negro League and white professional baseball and all the famous stars like Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard and Walter Johnson whose endeavors helped build the Griffith fortune and therefore the residence on 16th Street.<\/p>\n

Tampa, Florida offers an interesting case study for a similar structure. The city of Tampa has a proud baseball tradition that predates the founding of the modern Tampa Bay Rays franchise in 1998. In recognition of that rich baseball heritage the citizens of the Tampa-St. Pete area have established the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House<\/a>. Al Lopez was the first native son from the area to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, but he is a figure who is known in Tampa as the “Hispanic Jacky Robinson.” Preserving the Lopez house and converting it to a modern baseball museum has provided a source of common ground for everyone in the Tampa area to celebrate its sports heritage. The museum will celebrate the contributions of local Tampa stars such as Lou Piniella and Tony LaRussa in years to come.<\/p>\n

Washington has a similar opportunity to bring together all segments of the community around its pride in a baseball heritage long missing but now back for all to enjoy. There will be Hall of Fame stars for years to come in Washington, DC and while Nationals Park is a natural spot for honoring them, there is a need for something that encompasses the entirety of the long history of baseball in DC. Gaining recognition as a National Register Landmark could be the first step in restoring the Griffith House. Whatever its ultimate use, Landmark status will help protect it and ensure that it remains as a monument to a century of baseball history in DC. It may not fill that hole that spans 34 years, but it could be a huge start.<\/p>\n

If this idea lights a fire in your imagination, we will be discussing the Griffith House with Clark Griffith, II on the Seamheads podcasting show, “Outta the Parkway,” this Thursday night, July 17, 2014. Clark is the great nephew of Clark Griffith and he spent many years of his childhood in the house were he enjoyed the company of baseball notables like Joe Cronin and his children. Call in at 347-945-7172 to listen live and ask questions, or download the podcast at  http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/seamheads\/2014\/07\/17\/braves-banterouttatheparkway  after the show has aired.<\/p>\n

1<\/sup> Calvin Baseball’s Last Dinosaur<\/em>, Jon Kerr (William Brown, 1990: Minneapolis, MN) p. 8.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup> Archival information from the Washington, DC State Historic Preservation Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is still a hole in the middle of the Washington, DC baseball tradition that is thirty-four years wide and many of the great moments in the city’s bountiful Major League Baseball history remain lost inside it. Much of that memorable history occurred at old Griffith Stadium and when it was torn down after the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t