When the dorm-room telephone of a Dartmouth student rings, it produces an almost mysterious sound. BlitzMail is so prevalent on campus that students effectively lose touch with the form of communication throughout their college experience. During my first three years in Hanover, like most undergraduates, I probably used my phone but three or four times a week, and that included my regular calls to C&A's. But things changed during my senior year -- as they have for many a Dartmouth baseball player -- when I began receiving calls on a regular basis simply to "talk baseball" with the greatest baseball fan the College has ever known.
Stuart Griffin was a 1939 graduate of Yale University, an accomplished journalist, a veteran of the U.S. military, a loving father and husband and a long-time resident of Hanover. If you've ever come out to watch a baseball game at Red Rolfe Field on a beautiful spring weekend, you are likely to have seen Stu at the game -- sitting in the front row of the bleachers along the third-base line, scorecard in hand, wearing his Dartmouth baseball cap proudly and exuding an undying passion for his team with each pitch.
He would boast to everyone who would lend a willing ear that he had not missed a single Dartmouth baseball home game in 30 years. And in that same regard, he often compared his determination and longevity as a fan to those of Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken, Jr. as players. He was there in the rain, he was there in the snow and he was there in the sunshine. He came to the games on his own accord in the '70s and '80s, with the help of his wife and a walking cane in the '90s and in a wheelchair after the turn of the millenium.
Like many people over the age of 80, the strength and carry of Stu's voice began to fade as he aged. The message and devotion in his words, however, remained powerful. Similar to the way an athlete can always single out the words of his or her father from the crowd during a sporting event, Stu's encouraging words always seemed to emerge from the crowd as the most audible. And it was these encouraging words and the expression of Stu's devout passion for his team that seemed often to provide a boost to the Dartmouth players during certain at-bats, pitches and defensive situations.
At some point during Stu's 30 years as a Dartmouth fan, the players adopted a tradition known as "Stu Duty" in order to assist their super-fan along the walk from his car to his reserved spot in the bleachers. In a nutshell, before each home game, members of the senior class would delegate one freshman to serve "Stu Duty" for the day. The selected freshman would meet Stu at his car in the parking lot behind home plate, help him out of the car, assist him in his walk down the hill and to the bleachers and make sure that he was situated with all that he would need for that day's game. Any player who accomplished this task in fewer than 30 minutes (or before the end of the first inning) was considered successful in his task. And once Stu met a player, he never forgot him.
At the conclusion of each baseball season, Stu and his wife, Mieko, would always invite the members of the graduating class to their home for dinner. And while the dinner was delicious each year, what is most remembered about a trip to Stu's home was the messiness of his bedroom. Scattered throughout the room on desks, chairs and the floor were hundreds of Dartmouth baseball newspaper clippings, notes, scorecards, and other artifacts. There was not a single square inch of wall space that was not covered by pictures of the players he had so admired over the years. Stu's eagerness to show off this shrine to the players speaks volumes about this great man's passion for Dartmouth baseball and its players. Although he may not have been a direct contributor to the team on the playing field, Stu's contribution of his time, energy and passion toward the program, the players and the College was vast.
And so it was this past December that, in the midst of a cross-country move, I failed to send out my usual holiday greetings. And although the thought crossed my mind on more than one occasion that I should send my regards to Stu, I simply did not take the time. What I wouldn't give now to have the telephone ring but one more time and talk baseball with the most loyal fan of all -- a man who, in the final 30 years of his life, never once failed to make time for the Dartmouth baseball players he so treasured.
The impact that Stuart Griffin had on the Dartmouth baseball program, alumni, coaches and fans will no doubt live on with many of us for years. This same sentiment likely is shared by many members of the Dartmouth swim team, at whose meets Stu was regularly in attendance and by those who came to know him through their interaction with the Dartmouth Film Society. He was a passionate member of the Dartmouth College community and a man who touched the lives of everyone around him. For this, and for all the memorable times we all shared with him, I say: "Thank you, Stu. You will be missed."
Stuart Griffin passed away on Saturday, Jan.17, 2004 at the age of 86.
