CALVIN GRIFFITH, who was Twins President and Majority
Owner for 24 seasons before selling the franchise in '84,
died yesterday at the age of 87 due to heart ailments and a
kidney infection. Griffith's legacy includes relocating the
Washington Senators to MN in 1960, a move "which ended 49
years of his family's stewardship of major league baseball
in the nation's capital." Griffith left because he said MN
made "him an offer he couldn't refuse" (WASHINGTON POST,
10/21). In Minneapolis, Jay Weiner calls Griffith "always
outspoken, frequently stingy, occasionally offensive [and a]
consistently sharp-eyed talent scout." Griffith's son,
Clark, said his father should be remembered for recognizing
the Twin Cities as a strong sports market and "for his
attention to detail for putting teams together of skilled
players" (STAR TRIBUNE, 10/21). Also in Minneapolis, Sid
Hartman calls Griffith a "bonafide legend and the most
interesting personality I have ever covered" (STAR TRIBUNE,
10/21). In St. Paul, Jim Caple writes that Griffith was
"famous (or infamous) for his tight wallet" (ST. PAUL
PIONEER PRESS, 10/21). Caple adds, "If Griffith truly was
baseball's dinosaur owner, he also went the way of the
dinosaur. Unable to adapt to baseball's evolving economics,
he had to leave the game or become extinct" (PIONEER PRESS,
10/21). USA TODAY's Hal Bodley: "When he left the game, one
of the last of the single-family owners, Griffith's payroll
was the lowest in the majors because he was convinced huge
salaries were ruining the game" (USA TODAY, 10/21). ESPN's
Linda Cohn noted that Griffith was "known for holding the
line on escalating player salaries" ("SportsCenter," 10/20).
