Calvin Griffith was a prominent figure in the world of baseball, having spent over 60 years in the sport. He was born in Montreal, Canada in 1911 and grew up in Washington D.C. where his father, Clark Griffith, owned the Washington Senators baseball team. Calvin began working for the team as a batboy at the age of 12 and eventually worked his way up to become the team's president and owner.

Griffith's career in baseball began in the 1930s when he worked as a scout for the Senators. He was responsible for discovering several talented players, including pitcher Early Wynn and outfielder Roy Sievers. In 1955, Griffith became the team's general manager and helped lead the Senators to their first American League pennant in 33 years.

In 1961, Griffith moved the Senators to Minnesota and renamed them the Twins. Under his ownership, the Twins won the American League pennant in 1965 and 1969, and the World Series in 1987. Griffith was known for his frugal approach to team management, often refusing to sign high-priced free agents and instead relying on developing young talent.

Griffith was also known for his controversial comments about race. In 1978, he made a speech in which he criticized the African American community for not supporting the Twins and said that he moved the team to Minnesota because there were no black people there. The comments were widely criticized and Griffith later apologized.

Griffith sold the Twins in 1984 and retired from baseball. He was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2000. Griffith passed away in 1999 at the age of 87.

Overall, Calvin Griffith had a long and successful career in baseball, helping to build and manage two major league teams. While his comments about race were controversial, his contributions to the sport cannot be denied.