Griffith Stadium
Location	Washington, D.C.
Opened	July 24, 1911
Closed	September 21, 1961
Demolished	January 26, 1965
Owner	Washington Senators
Surface	Grass
Architect	Osborn Engineering
Former names	National Park (1911-1920)
Tenants	Washington Senators (I) (AL) (1911-1960) Washington Senators (II) (AL) (1961) Washington Redskins (NFL) (1937-1960) Georgetown Hoyas (NCAA) (1925-1950)
Capacity	32,000 (1921) 27,550 (1961)
Field dimensions	(Final) Left Field - 388 ft Left-Center - 360 ft Center Field - 421 ft Right-Center - 373 ft Right Field - 320 ft Backstop - 61 ft

Griffith Stadium was a sports stadium that stood in Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1965, at the corner of Georgia Avenue and W Street, NW. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively A modern stadium (plural stadiums or stadia in English is a place or venue for (mostly outdoor Sports Concerts or other events consisting Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest Washington D An earlier wooden baseball park had stood on the site, built in 1891. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It was called Boundary Field or National Park, as its occupants were then known primarily by the nickname "Nationals". Boundary Field is a former Baseball ground located in Washington D This park was destroyed by a fire in March 1911, and replaced by a steel and concrete structure, also at first called National Park; it was renamed for Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith in 1920. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Clark Calvin Griffith ( November 20, 1869 - October 27, 1955) nicknamed "the Old Fox" was a Major League Baseball Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar The stadium was home to the American League Senators from 1911 through 1960, and to an expansion team of the same name for their first season in 1961. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in Champions World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over New York Giants (4-2 Awards and honors Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees (4-3 Bobby Richardson, The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft Headline Event of the Year Roger Maris hits 61 home runs breaking Babe Ruth 's record The venue hosted the 1937 and 1956 Major League Baseball All-Star Games. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League It served as a part-time home for the Negro League team called the Homestead Grays during the 1930s and 1940s. Part of the History of baseball in the United States series The Negro leagues were American professional Baseball leagues The Homestead Grays were a professional Baseball team that played in the Negro Leagues in the United States. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be It was also home to the Washington Redskins of the National Football League for 24 seasons, from the time they transferred from Boston in 1937 through the 1960 season. The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington D The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. Auto racing Grand Prix racing - Main article 1937 Grand Prix season. Athletics Marathon December 4 &mdash Fukuoka Marathon, Japan Men's Winner Barry

William Howard Taft began the tradition of presidents throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the baseball season at Griffith Stadium. William Howard Taft (September 15 1857 – March 8 1930 was an American politician, the twenty-seventh President of the United States, the tenth Chief Justice The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding Ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and Harry Truman, being ambidextrous, enjoyed showing off by throwing the baseball with either hand. According to some reports, he would alternate from year to year.

Field design

The stadium was laid out at a strange angle within its block in the Washington street grid. Thus, it was over 400 feet down the left field line (east) to the bleachers (though this distance was shortened in later years by the construction of an inner fence). The fence also took an unusual right-angled jut into right-center field where a large tree and several apartment buildings stood, due to the unwillingness of the owners of the tree and those nearby houses to sell to the Senators' owners during construction of the stadium. The right field fence angled away from the infield sharply which, in addition to a 30-foot fence (to block the view from surrounding buildings) about 8 feet inside the lower, outer wall, meant that relatively few home runs were hit at the stadium. Center field was east-southeast of home plate, which made for difficult visibility for the fielders in the late afternoon sun.

Notable sluggers

The distance fences were no problem for sluggers like Josh Gibson, Mickey Mantle and the Senators' own youngster Harmon Killebrew. Joshua Gibson ( December 21, 1911 - January 20, 1947) was an American Catcher in Mickey Charles Mantle ( October 20, 1931 &ndash August 13, 1995) was an American Baseball player who was inducted Harmon Clayton Killebrew (ˈkɪləˌbɹuː born June 29 1936 is a former Major League Baseball player and member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson is reported to have hit baseballs over the left field bleachers twice. Babe Ruth hit near-500 foot drives over the center and right-center walls on consecutive days in May, 1921. George Herman Ruth Jr (February 6 1895 &ndash August 16 1948 also popularly known as " Babe " " The Bambino " and " The Sultan of Mantle hit one that was so impressive that someone tried to determine its flight with some precision, thus popularizing the term "Tape Measure Home Run". It was alleged to be 565 feet, although it bounced off the top of the back wall of the bleachers, adding some distance to its flight path.

Aside from some championship seasons in the early 1920s and 1930s, the Senators teams that played at Griffith Stadium were legendarily bad. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. The hapless Washington team became the butt of a well-known Vaudeville joke, "First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League," a twist on the famous Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee eulogy of George Washington: "First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Henry Lee III called "Light Horse Harry", ( January 29 1756 – March 25 1818) was a Cavalry officer in George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the (A similar phrasing was once used for the St. Louis Browns: "First in shoes, first in booze, and last in the American League. The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Brown Shoe Company is a Footwear company that owns a variety of popular footwear Brands in the United States and Canada. Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc ( (ˈænhаɪzər bʊʃ is the largest Brewing company in the United States with a 48 ")

Supposedly, Senators groundskeepers ensured that it was actually slightly downhill towards first base in order to give sluggish Senators players an extra step.

Only one Washington, DC public high school baseball player ever hit a home run over the 30-foot high "green monster-like" right field wall at Griffith Stadium - Bill Harrison of Coolidge High School in 1952.

The stadium was still called Griffith Stadium in 1961, even though team owner Calvin Griffith had moved the original Senators club to the "Twin Cities" area of Minneapolis-St. Paul (becoming the Minnesota Twins), to be replaced in Washington by a new expansion team, also called the Senators (now the Texas Rangers). Calvin Robertson Griffith ( December 1 1911 - October 20 1999) born Calvin Robertson in Montreal, Canada, was The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. See also Relocation of professional sports teams An expansion team is a term used for a brand new team in a sports league The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft

Final years

In the fall of 1961, the Redskins and Senators moved to the new D. Athletics Marathon August 12 &mdash Enschede Marathon, Netherlands Men's Winner C. Stadium (renamed R.F.K. Stadium in January 1969). Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, better known as RFK Stadium or RFK, is a professional sports Stadium in Washington D Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Griffith Stadium was demolished in 1965, and the Howard University Hospital now occupies the site. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Howard University is a private, Coeducational Nonsectarian University located in Washington D

Washington Redskins

The stadium played host to the 1940 and 1942 NFL championship games. The 1940 National Football League Championship Game, was the 8th in NFL history The 1942 National Football League Championship game was the NFL's 10th title game The 1940 game was the stunning 73-0 win by the Chicago Bears, the largest shutout game in the history of the National Football League. The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The 1942 game was essentially a rematch, and this time the undefeated Bears were upset by the 'Skins. According to Richard Whittingham's history of the Chicago Bears (ISBN 0671628852), 'Skins owner George Preston Marshall's pregame "pep talk" to his team consisted solely of Marshall writing "73-0" on the chalkboard. George Preston Marshall (1896 &ndash 1969 was the long-time owner and president of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL

During a December 7, 1941 Redskins game against the Philadelphia Eagles, an announcement came over the public-address speakers informing all generals and admirals to report to their duty stations. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was not explicitly announced over the PA system, leaving the thousands in attendance among the last Americans to learn of the attacks. Pearl Harbor is a Harbor on the Island of O{{okina}}ahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. The Redskins won that final game of the 1941 season by a score of 20–14, and finished with a record of 6–5, third in the NFL East.

Sources

• Green Cathedrals, by Phil Lowry.
• Lost Ballparks, by Lawrence Ritter.
• Williams, Paul K. Greater U Street. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2002.
• The Ballparks, by Bill Shannon & George Kalinsky, 1975. ISBN 0-8015-0490-2