The First Pitch

The First Pitch
Artist	William Koch
Year	2012
Medium	Bronze
Location	Buffalo, New York
Coordinates	42°52′53.09″N 78°52′28.54″W
Owner	Buffalo Bisons

The First Pitch is a 2012 bronze statue of James D. Griffin, by William Koch.^[1] It is located at Swan Street and Washington Street, outside Sahlen Field in Buffalo.

Griffin, the former Mayor of Buffalo, was instrumental in getting Sahlen Field built and bringing the Buffalo Bisons franchise to the city while he was in office. Following his death in 2008, Griffin was posthumously honored by the Buffalo Common Council after they voted to change Sahlen Field's address to One James D. Griffin Plaza.^[2]

The work depicts Griffin throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Sahlen Field's inaugural game on April 14, 1988.^[3]

References

1. Fetouh, Omar (August 17, 2012). "Jimmy Griffin statue unveiled at Coca Coca Field". news.wbfo.org. WBFO NPR.
2. Zremski, Jerry; Meyer, Brian (July 16, 2008). "Russert, Griffin names headed for public spaces Bills' stadium road; baseball park plaza". The Buffalo News.
3. Krell, David (July 26, 2020). "Mario Cuomo". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research.

External links

• Buffalo Architecture and History – The First Pitch