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SELFproclaimedVIRGIN

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Jan 30, 2012

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May 1, 2008

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UTICA -- Growing up, Steven Griffin was a New York Yankees fan. However, as he sat in his parents' Utica home recently, he wore a Los Angeles Dodgers T-shirt. His allegiance shifted because his great-great uncle, Mike Griffin, himself a Utica native, played seven seasons of professional baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1891 to 1898. Mike Griffin also played for the Baltimore team in the American Association and the Philadelphia team in the Players League in the late 19th century. "Those Brooklyn Dodgers are linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers of today. He's linked to the Dodger history," said Griffin proudly. "When Mike Griffin was linked to the Dodgers, I wanted to link to their family tree." Since 1987, when as a Babe Ruth baseball player in South Utica Steve Griffin discovered that Mike Griffin was his great-great uncle, he has been on a mission to learn more about him. Ultimately, he'd like to see his ancestor inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Griffin even followed in his famous uncle's footsteps, continuing to play baseball in high school and college, finishing his baseball career with three seasons in the minor leagues in Cooperstown. All the while, Griffin's passion for the game was evident. He transferred colleges from New York to Alabama to be closer to baseball's spring training; he researched hitting techniques by talking to Hall of Famers and videotaping spring training practices. "The knowledge that I gained the past 10 years, it wouldn't have changed my swing or anything like that, but it would have changed the way I felt." He said having this knowledge would have allowed him to gain confidence in himself and to feel more comfortable in the batter's box, ultimately making him a better baseball player. That research and his interest in his great-great uncle led to an interest in genealogy. His research accelerated in the late 1990s as the popularity of the Internet grew. Offline, Griffin has traveled across the country researching his ancestry. "The research that I've done wasn't easy for the past 10 years," said Griffin. He recently completed researching Mike Griffin's ancestry, as well as the other branches of his family tree. In 2004, Mike Griffin was inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame, but Griffin sees this honor only as a steppingstone. "It is a footstep in the right direction," said Griffin. His "main objective" remains to see Mike Griffin inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Griffin sees his great-great uncle as deserving of the honor. "He was a captain. He was manager and captain. His last five years, Mike Griffin batted over 300," Griffin said. Griffin also praised his great-great uncle's character, calling him "genial, kind, friendly, well-liked (and) church-going." To achieve this goal, Griffin must appeal to the Hall of Fame committee, which includes Hall of Famers, Spink Award recipients, Frick Award recipients, and Veterans Committee members. Veteran players with 10 or more years of experience are eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame forever. There is an election for players every two years, with the next in 2009.
"When I e-mailed Jim Gates, (the library director at the Baseball Hall of Fame), he said I do have an opportunity, because he was considered the best center fielder