The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Twins remove statue of late owner Griffith over 1978 racist remark
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) » The Minnesota Twins on Friday announced they removed a statue of former owner Calvin Griffith at Target Field, citing racist remarks he made in 1978.
Griffith’s statue was one of several installed when the team opened the ballpark in 2010. Its removal came on Juneteenth, the traditional commemoration of emancipation of enslaved African Americans, and on the same day as a statue of a former Washington Redskins owner was removed from outside the team’s old RFK Stadium.
“While we acknowledge the prominent role Calvin Griffith played in our history, we cannot remain silent and continue ignoring the racist comments he made in Waseca in 1978,” the Twins said in a statement Friday. “His disparaging words displayed a blatant intolerance and disregard for the black community that are the antithesis of what the Minnesota Twins stand for and value.”
Griffith moved the Washington Senators to Minnesota for the 1961 season, and the franchise was renamed the Twins.
During a speech in Minnesota to a Waseca Lions
On the air club in 1978, he said he decided to make the move “when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here,” the Minneapolis Tribune reported at the time.
“Our decision to memorialize
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Spokesman Dustin Morse said the removal was an internal decision, but the team had “certainly heard from outside fans and the community over the years” about Griffith’s remarks.
Griffith sold the Twins to banker Carl Pohlad in 1984. Griffith died in 1999.
“We’re very honored that Calvin’s statue appeared at Target Field for 10 years, and we thank the Twins for that consideration,” said Clark Griffith, Calvin’s son. Clark Griffith, a business consultant in Minneapolis, said he had no further comment.
Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew, whom Pohlad scorned as a “damn fool” in the Waseca speech for signing a contract that underpaid him, said he respected the decision to remove the statue. He recalled his anger at the time but said he later forgave Griffith.
“Now that more than four decades have passed, I look back on Calvin’s comments and our personal relationship with additional context and perspective,” Carew said in a statement through the team. “In my view, Calvin made a horrible mistake while giving