Perry McGriff

Perry Colson McGriff Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School University of Florida
• High School Gainesville High School

• Born June 29, 1937 in Arcadia, FL USA
• Died February 2, 2017 in Gainesville, FL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Perry McGriff played pro ball. His cousin Lee McGriff [1] played in the NFL.

Perry played both baseball and football at the University of Florida. He was named the All-American first baseman in 1959 (hitting .350 and playing error-free ball) and played for Team USA when they won Bronze in the 1959 Pan American Games. He signed with the Kansas City Athletics and hit .310/.389/.403 for the 1961 Sarasota Sun Sox. He fell 10 plate appearances shy of qualifying for the Florida State League batting title or he would have ranked 4th, behind only James Livesey, Pete Rose and Buddy Reedy. He tied for second in triples, a distant 18 behind Rose, would have been 10th in OBP had he qualified and was second in fielding by FSL first basemen, .001 off the pace.

McGriff was a State Farm insurance agent for 48 years. He went into politics, being elected as a Democrat as mayor of Gainesville, FL, county councilman and Florida State Representative. He ran for State Senate, but lost in 2010, a bad year for Democrats nationally and in which he accused his opponent of lying about his positions. In 2012, he bought another insurance agency, deciding he was not yet ready for retirement.

McGriff has been honored by the University of Florida.

Sources

• 1959 Ocala Star-Banner on All-American nod
• 1969 St. Petersburg Times article
• 1962 Baseball Guide
• Orlando Sentinel on connection to Lee McGriff
• Article on McGriff's 2010 campaign announcement
• Article on 2010 campaign
• 2011 University of Florida Ethics in Business award
• 2012 Gainesville Sun article