Player #28F: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.
Deveaux reports how Cobb could have been a Senator: Clark Griffith's "little ballclub," as he'd gotten into the habit of calling it, again finished second in 1913, by 6.5 games. The A's, however, had been ahead by double-digits until the last week of the season. This 96-57 Philadelphia team featured a pitching staff which included a couple of future members of the Hall of Fame -- Eddie Plank and Chief Bender. Jack Coombs was taking a regular turn, and rookies Herb Pennock and Bullet Joe Bush, both of whom would attain stardom, were starting to contribute. The pride of the A's was the infield, then widely referred to as the "$100,000 Infield," which included Stuffy McInnis, Eddie Collins, Jack Barry, and Frank "Home Run" Baker.
On the "little ballclub," even by the standards of the time, there was not much offensive firepower. Clark Griffith came to a conclusion that rocked the baseball world. With Walter Johnson capable of winning at nearly every turn and the Nats a viable contender along with the A's and Naps (as were called the Indians, named after their star player, the affable Napoleon Lajoie), Griffith was desperate for more hitting. Barely a week into the season, he claimed to have made the Detroit Tigers an overture he felt they couldn't possibly refuse. The New York Times printed it -- Washington had tendered an astounding $100,000 bid for Ty Cobb.
According to Griffith, he had written a check and passed it to Tigers owner Frank Navin with the stipulation that he be allowed two weeks to cover it. In return, Washington wanted the one-and-only Cobb, at once the most prolific and most combative position player in the league, winner of six straight batting crowns and on his way to extending the string to nine (eventually, 12 in 13 years). Navin must have thought Griffith was joking, but for the public record, he never did confirm whether the offer had been been made, let alone considered. If the proposition ever really was dangled in front of Navin, his astonishment might have been minimal compared to that of the members of the Senators' board of directors. The Old Fox was ready for them.
Griffith's plan, according to writer Shirley Povich, had been to sell 100,000 one-dollar tickets to fans who could use them for whatever game they wished. After all, there were always empty seats at League Park. The fans would support this, thought Griffith, since it was obvious that the team was now very good and just a step away, as the saying goes. Newspapermen dismissed the rumors of an imminent deal, reasoning that no player, even Ty Cobb, could possibly be worth $100,000. Besides, they wondered, where would Washington get the money? The whole situation eventually dissipated when nothing happened. Just as well for Clark Griffith, who was likely spared what seemed like an oncoming confrontation with the club's directors. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664961915
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664961928
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664961983
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664961990
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664961995