Ted Leavengood

This biography of Clark Griffith fills an important literary hole in the history of baseball. Griffith was an influencer as well as a mover. His role in baseball in our nation's capital put him in the spotlight repeatedly as baseball became first our national past-time and second the leading professional sport in creating a business model that other professional sports have followed. Griffith was certainly old school. His baseball roots reach back to the early part of the 20th Century. He was also visionary. The fact that the baseball empire he created later crumbled and faded does not in any way lessen his importance in the game. This biography is well written and well documented. Any serious baseball fan should enjoy it very much. I certainly did.… (more)

This a review of "Clark Griffith: The Old Fox of Washington Baseball" by Ted Leavengood. I read this book as an Early Reviewer book and enjoyed it very much. I like to read history generally and, as a baseball fan, I particularly like to read about its long and colorful past. This book is a biography of one of Baseball's old hero's turned manager and finally owner, Clark Griffith, over a lifetime that spans most of the years of modern Baseball. Looking at Baseball through his story is a wonderful way to appreciate the inner workings of the professional game and lights up details of Baseballs past that would not be possible with a general history. The book covered all of Clark Griffith's baseball life and it was a very long life, indeed. It got a little sloggy a few times as the details of season after season of the Washington Nationals play were laid out but in the end it gave the right perspective for his long and inspirational career. If you love the history of the game of Baseball you should like this book.… (more)

This biography of Clark Griffith was quite interesting. It includes a lot of early baseball history. I had heard of Clark Griffith as owner of the Washington Senators. But I didn't know that he had been a major league pitcher or the first manager of the New York Yankees. The book chronicles Griffith's life, but also the formation of the American League, early labor issues, pennant races and the Senators winning the World Series.

Of particular interest to me was the description of baseball as it was played in the 1890s and early 1900s. With Griffith having been a pitcher, the author also discusses some of the other early, great pitchers.

The book is well researched and very readable. Anyone interested in any baseball history should enjoy this book.… (more)