The House was Built by Johnson and Griffith - John Thorn

NY Giants Golden Hours 1900

"The esteemed John Thorn, MLB’s official historian for good reason, recently penned (is anything actually penned anymore?) an article titled The House that McGraw Built – meaning the Yankee franchise. In contrast though, I see the franchise’s genesis as a product of Ban Johnson and Clark Griffith’s efforts. John McGraw with all his bluster and vindictiveness was more an impediment to the development of the American League than an impetus. His 'contribution' was more the destruction of the Baltimore franchise than the erection of one in New York City. Baltimore’s fair-haired friend in the end helped erase the city from major league maps for over a half a century. Similarly, he would consciously set out to destroy the fledgling club in New York. The following multi-part article is pulled from my biography of Clark Griffith, examining the formation of the New York Highlanders and Griffith’s near solo effort in running the franchise through its first half-decade."
The House was Built by Johnson and Griffith, Part 1

"The new club, initially called the Americans, departed for spring training in mid-March 1903. Opening Day was set for April 22. They spent most of their time in Atlanta and New Orleans playing the Crackers and Pelicans, respectively, of the Southern Association. The New York newspapers were initially hostile to the new ball club. Freedman still had some connections after all. Griffith hired reporter Jim Bagley to travel with the team and remit stories back to several Gotham dailies. Clark also paid sports editor Jim Price of the New York Press to cover the southern trip. Bagley’s stories proved sufficiently entertaining that the city’s main papers were forced to pick up coverage of the Americans. The American League was now legitimate in New York."
Part 2

"Griffith made another important acquisition at the end of 1904. On October 4, he drafted pitcher Doc Newton and a seemingly benign first baseman named Hal Chase from Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League. Newton had just led the league with 39 wins; however, he copped only twenty victories in five seasons with New York. Chase was a find, the first homegrown Yankee superstar. Some still call him the best fielding first sacker of all-time… Willie Keeler was the first Highlander to sign for 1905. Out of the blue, he walked into Frank Farrell’s offices in the Fuller Building at 23rd and Broadway on November 22 and penned his name to a contract. The club didn’t expect any others to sign until Griffith returned from his Montana ranch sometime around Christmas. Walter Clarkson, recently signed out of Harvard University and brother of Hall of Famer John Clarkson, spent November and December at the Griffith ranch hunting and trying to put on weight for the upcoming season."
Part 3

Baltimore 1894

"The Highlanders slipped to fifth place in 1907. Griffith, the pitcher, only entered four games all in relief. Before the season even started, it was evident that Clark was getting restless. He entered into a partnership with his old California buddies Joe Cantillon and Norris L. “Tip” O’Neill to buy a sheep ranch in Montana. The plan was to each put up about $7,000 as an initial stake. O’Neill, president of the Western League, would oversee the operation during the summer while the other two attended to their ball clubs. Clark was already successfully raising cattle but saw a bigger windfall in sheep. The idea never left the planning stages. In the fall, Griffith contemplated leaving baseball to breed horses full-time. He already had over a hundred on his ranch, and figured the enterprise would be much more lucrative than baseball. Perhaps the graying manager was looking to settle down at age 37 after twenty years in the game. Clark made even bigger plans in 1908; he wanted a ball club."
Part 4

2012 October: The House That McGraw Built - John Thorn