before attending law school @ TSUN ... appearently big fan of MSU baseball
http://www.leftfieldlounge.com/JG.html
http://www.leftfieldlounge.com/JG.html
Was unaware that John Grishom went to State as an undergrad
- Thread starter FISHDAWG
- Start date
well.. the germans did bomb pearl harbor on friday
i'm... i... i'm just not sure what to say.
i'm... i... i'm just not sure what to say.
Well, in typical MSU fashion, we did screw that up.......
I don't know the ins and outs, but we did not offer his son the chance to play baseball at MSU, so he goes to Virginia, John sends a check, next thing you know they have a stadium and are routinely reaching the CWS.
Go figure.
I don't know the ins and outs, but we did not offer his son the chance to play baseball at MSU, so he goes to Virginia, John sends a check, next thing you know they have a stadium and are routinely reaching the CWS.
Go figure.
Maybe the single biggest screw up in our athletic department's...
illustrious history. We've had other really big ones but this one could have been SO EASILY avoided. I do believe Pat McMahon was the primary culprit if memory serves but if LT had been in touch with ANYTHING going on around him he would have taken care of this situation and made sure things with John Grisham's son were handled properly. But hence, asking for competence in the MSU athletic department in those days was just too much I guess. No telling how many millions of dollars in donations that asinine decision has cost us over the years.
Don't have a picture of UVA stadium before Grisham..but here's the after Grisham
And if I remember correctly he only wanted a walk on spot for his son. Atta boy Ronny!!
http://www.vmdo.com/docs/Davenport_case_study.pdf
And if I remember correctly he only wanted a walk on spot for his son. Atta boy Ronny!!
http://www.vmdo.com/docs/Davenport_case_study.pdf
Hell yeah, we're starting to get sidewalk fans.
And all y'all are complaining about our football season.**
And all y'all are complaining about our football season.**
That article is a hoax that has been making the rounds for years. Grisham never went to state nor ever attends any events.
geez, i hope you're wrong! i never heard he tried to come to ole miss. knew the msu story, i hope we didn't screw the same pooch.
It was polk.....
I met JG's sister when my father was in the hospital in Jackson. She was his nurse. We spoke at length about JG and State's BB program. She confirmed that indeed Grisham did have a falling out with polk partially over his son being on the baseball team and a few other things that happened that mainly involved RP's very large ego (probably some blame on both sides I'd guess). She said grisham decided to wash his hands of the MSU baseball program as a result. I asked her if she thought he would possibly return to the fold now that we have change at the top and her reply was not a chance. Said that he inherited a stubborn streak from their father that once he moved on that was pretty much it. He does not look back. Such a pity. Especially since JG seemed to idolize RP at one time. Join the club I suppose.
My question is where was the freaking AD when all this was going on! Oh check that, never mind. Overall, I believe we still do owe RP a debt of gratitude for his overall body of work but it is patently obvious in retrospect that Polk II was a serious mistake.
As far as JG is concerned, it would be nice to have that kind of cash available to our program but I have personally lost interest in his writing. He is a bit too liberal for my tastes.
I met JG's sister when my father was in the hospital in Jackson. She was his nurse. We spoke at length about JG and State's BB program. She confirmed that indeed Grisham did have a falling out with polk partially over his son being on the baseball team and a few other things that happened that mainly involved RP's very large ego (probably some blame on both sides I'd guess). She said grisham decided to wash his hands of the MSU baseball program as a result. I asked her if she thought he would possibly return to the fold now that we have change at the top and her reply was not a chance. Said that he inherited a stubborn streak from their father that once he moved on that was pretty much it. He does not look back. Such a pity. Especially since JG seemed to idolize RP at one time. Join the club I suppose.
My question is where was the freaking AD when all this was going on! Oh check that, never mind. Overall, I believe we still do owe RP a debt of gratitude for his overall body of work but it is patently obvious in retrospect that Polk II was a serious mistake.
As far as JG is concerned, it would be nice to have that kind of cash available to our program but I have personally lost interest in his writing. He is a bit too liberal for my tastes.
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According to JG's sister he just wanted him to get a try out. Polk wouldn't even look at him. The son of a man that had probably donated millions to his program. Breathtaking arrogance! I just have to wonder if maybe he couldn't handle JG's celebrity taking some of his spotlight.
Polk was at UGA during the time frame where this all occurred. Young Grisham arrived at UVA in 2001, which is the last year McMahon was here. So there's no way Ron Polk was involved in this situation. Polk II didn't even start till this was all over with.
Interesting...
I had always been led to believe it was McMahon who made that decision but looking at Ty Grisham's birthdate (May of 1983) guess that would have had him starting to college in the Fall of 2001 (unless he graduated HS early) which I believe would have been the first year of Polk II since McMahon left for Florida after winning the SEC tournament in May of 2001. SO, I guess it likely was indeed a Polk decision not to have him as a walk on. Boy that makes me despise even more the decision to bring Polk back.
I would HOPE that because we went against Polk and hired Cohen against his wishes, that maybe Grisham is more open again to the program. Great thing is, Cohen is still a Polk guy but not a complete disciple. So we get the best of both worlds here. Honor our past without ruining our future.
I have no clue if Grisham actually donated money to UVA. But I'm pretty sure he would have donated plenty to MSU had his son gone here.
I have no clue if Grisham actually donated money to UVA. But I'm pretty sure he would have donated plenty to MSU had his son gone here.
According to UVA's athletic website.....
Ty Grisham's first season was as a red shirt in 2002. Polk's first season back at MSU was 2002. He was hired back when McMahon left for UF after the 2001 season. Thus, unless I am missing something, RP would have been been recruiting for MSU in the latter half of 2001 the same year that the grisham lad was a prospective recruit.
Ty Grisham's first season was as a red shirt in 2002. Polk's first season back at MSU was 2002. He was hired back when McMahon left for UF after the 2001 season. Thus, unless I am missing something, RP would have been been recruiting for MSU in the latter half of 2001 the same year that the grisham lad was a prospective recruit.
Grisham
If my memory serves me correctly. Grisham gave UVA a check for 6 million dollars. We have walkons so why not let him sit on the bench, wear a uniform and get scads of donation dollars from his dad.
If my memory serves me correctly. Grisham gave UVA a check for 6 million dollars. We have walkons so why not let him sit on the bench, wear a uniform and get scads of donation dollars from his dad.
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I don't think it was a screw up...
Long time, First time,
I was around State and the baseball situation back then. John would come around from time to time. Especially in the Omaha years of 97/98. I think he was in College Station too. I'm sure he was a pretty busy dude.
When Mac was there, John wanted an honest evaluation. He didn't want him to just be on the team. There was definitely a spot for him if he wanted to come. If I remember correctly JG was living in Virginia at the time and his son was going to school there. He was a little short as a player and at the time O'Conner wasn't the coach. He was at Notre Dame during that time they were making trips to Starkville. Womack was their coach and they were a below .500 program.
Grisham thought he had a better chance of playing there than he did at State. They also offered him a little bit of money if I remember correctly. JG may have soured since then, but at the time, he didn't want him to go somewhere to be John Grisham's kid who is on the team for that reason...
Long time, First time,
I was around State and the baseball situation back then. John would come around from time to time. Especially in the Omaha years of 97/98. I think he was in College Station too. I'm sure he was a pretty busy dude.
When Mac was there, John wanted an honest evaluation. He didn't want him to just be on the team. There was definitely a spot for him if he wanted to come. If I remember correctly JG was living in Virginia at the time and his son was going to school there. He was a little short as a player and at the time O'Conner wasn't the coach. He was at Notre Dame during that time they were making trips to Starkville. Womack was their coach and they were a below .500 program.
Grisham thought he had a better chance of playing there than he did at State. They also offered him a little bit of money if I remember correctly. JG may have soured since then, but at the time, he didn't want him to go somewhere to be John Grisham's kid who is on the team for that reason...
I don't know the amount. But I read an interview with the Virginia AD who said that without Grisham the UVA baseball program would have never become competitive.
I'd say the Grisham screw up ranks up with the Carl Maddox massive screw up of declining the Florida forfeit which would have given up an SEC football title in 1980.
Who needs the Bears? We are our own worst enemy.
don't know. i just know i've heard the story about him being
ticked at msu because of it. i've never heard anything about ole miss. i've also never heard of grisham having any "relationship" with ole miss despite living in oxford. he may have been a great benefactor to us while there, but i'm not aware of that. he still owns the house/property and somebody on the pack may know better than i do but i don't get the impression he's in oxford very much any more and hasn't been for years. did his kid metriculate before bianco? if so he might have avoided us.
ticked at msu because of it. i've never heard anything about ole miss. i've also never heard of grisham having any "relationship" with ole miss despite living in oxford. he may have been a great benefactor to us while there, but i'm not aware of that. he still owns the house/property and somebody on the pack may know better than i do but i don't get the impression he's in oxford very much any more and hasn't been for years. did his kid metriculate before bianco? if so he might have avoided us.
Actually, he would have only had a few months if that, since Grisham would have enrolled at UVA in the fall of 2001. Or possibly summer 2001, in which case Polk would have had no time.
In baseball, it's almost impossible for a new coach to get any recruits on his own the first year, unless it's scraps.
In baseball, it's almost impossible for a new coach to get any recruits on his own the first year, unless it's scraps.
According to my fuzzy memory
Didn't Ben Grisham occupy a roster spot a few years after that? Wasn't he a nephew? I always wondered if that was an effort to heal wounds with JG or just rub it in his face.
Didn't Ben Grisham occupy a roster spot a few years after that? Wasn't he a nephew? I always wondered if that was an effort to heal wounds with JG or just rub it in his face.
This one ranks right up there. Pat McMahon turned him down so Grisham shopped him to Georgia where Polk turned him down. Shortly afterward Polk came back to State so we were screwed both ways. But this probably isn't the worst. Archie Manning was a multi-sport athlete out of Drew High School. We decided he couldn't cut it in the SEC in football but Joe Dan Gold did offer him a basketball scholarship. Go figure.
He was a regular at Len Lew's in the late 70's
Having his cold ones....................
Having his cold ones....................