Hal Griggs

Harold Lloyd Griggs

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.
• High School West Fulton High School
• Debut April 18, 1956
• Final Game September 25, 1959
• Born August 24, 1928 in Shannon, GA USA
• Died May 10, 2005 in Tucson, AZ USA

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Biographical Information

Hal Griggs' entry into pro baseball came about when he was working as a 21-year-old bellhop in a Miami, FL hotel and he happened to meet the owner of the minor league team in DeLand, FL who offered him a tryout. Griggs, who had never played organized ball at any level, began his career with the Hickory Rebels in Hickory, NC in 1950. Before the 1952 season he was picked up by the Washington Senators from the Newton-Conover Twins of the class D Western Carolina League.

Griggs pitched 209 innings, won 15 and lost 9, with a 3.79 ERA and be chosen for the All-Star team in 1955 for the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern Association. He would made the Senators out of spring training in 1956 and spent the season with them, going 1-6 in 34 appearances with a 6.02 ERA.

Hal was sent back to Chattanooga in 1957, where he won 21 games and lost 12 while pitching 256 innings with a 4.43 ERA. Again, he was chosen to appear with the All-Star team. He was back with the Senators late in the season, where on September 24th, he ended Ted Williams' streak of 16 consecutive plate appearances without being retired. Hal finished 1957 going 0-1 in two appearances with a 3.29 ERA for Washington.

Griggs spent all of 1958 and 1959 with the Senators, winding up his four-year major league career with an overall 6-26 record in 105 appearances for a lifetime 5.50 ERA. The last of his six big league victories was an impressive two-hit shutout of the New York Yankees in 1959.

At age 30, Hal wasn't ready to quit pitching just yet and he spent the next four seasons (1960-1963) in the high minors, but after a 6-4 season with the Hawaii Islanders in 1963, he chose to retire from the game. Hal had spent 14 active seasons in pro baseball and had accumulated a respectable minor league record. He had made 446 appearances on the mound, winning 131 times and losing 130. He pitched 2,150 innings (7 years of over 200 each). He gave up 2,207 base hits along with 1,083 base on balls and allowed 972 earned runs for a minor league career 4.15 ERA.

After baseball Hal worked in various sales positions, building maintenance and construction over the years in Florida, Michigan and Arizona. Griggs retired in Arizona and died on May 10, 2005 in Tucson, AZ.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition
SABR MILB Database:page

Related Sites

• Hal Griggs at the SABR Bio Project