Washington Baseball Legends
Ed Delahanty OF 1902-1903
Rick Ferrell C 1937-41, 44-45, 47
Lefty Gomez LHP 1943
Goose Goslin OF 1921-30, 33, 38
Clark Griffith MGR 1912-20 Pres. 20-55
Bucky Harris MGR 24-28, 35-42, 50-54
Harmon Killebrew 3B 1954-1960
Heinie Manush OF 1930-1935
Al Simmons OF 1937-1938
George Sisler 1B 1928
Mickey Vernon 1B 1939-43, 46-48, 50-55
Early Wynn RHP 1939, 41-44, 46-48
The Longest Home Run at Griffith Stadium
From the Coffyville Whirlwind Blog
April 17, 1953
In a 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals, Yankees star Mickey Mantle hit the longest home run ever at Griffith Stadium. At the time, it was the longest recorded home run hit by anybody not named Babe Ruth.
The home run measured 565 feet. From Louis Effrat’s report in the New York Times:
This amazing 21-year-old athlete today walloped one over the fifty-five-foot high left-field wall at Griffith Stadium. The ball, scuffed in two spots, finally stopped in the back-yard of a house, 565 feet away from home plate.
The home run came with two outs in the fifth inning. The Yankees were leading in the game 2-1 at the time, and Chuck Stobbs was the Nats pitcher. There were two outs and the previous batter, Yogi Berra, had reached first base with a walk. The blast made the score 4-1 in favor of the Yankees.
10-year old Donald Dunaway (whose address was listed in the Times) recovered the ball. He was offered an “undisclosed sum of money” by the Yankees in exchange for the prize.