Perry McGriff

From BR Bullpen

Perry Colson McGriff Jr.

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

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.

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