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 Linda Thomas
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No street for Ken Griffey Jr.

December 14, 2010 @ 3:31 am (Updated: 3:46 pm - 3/28/11 )

The person behind an effort to get a street near Safeco Field renamed after former Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. says he's dropping the ball. Instead, he'll try to get a street's name changed in honor of broadcast legend Dave Niehaus.

It wasn't that long ago, in June, when Griffey announced his retirement from playing baseball and disappeared from Seattle. A day later, fans started an effort to rename a section of 1st Avenue in front of Safeco "Ken Griffey Jr. Way."

"Being a kid from a very small town in New Jersey and coming to a large city like Seattle, my first Mariner's game is something I'll never forget," fan Glen Garnett said back then. "We should retire his number, have a ticker tape parade for him."

Now Garnett is retiring the plan to rename a street after Junior. It's an effort he couldn't hit out of the park because businesses resisted the name change, and Griffey reportedly didn't like the "Way" part of the street anyway, preferring "Drive" instead.

Griffey

So no "drive," and no "way" for Griffey.

Garnett tells me now they'll work to have Occidental Avenue next to the parking garage renamed after the late Dave Niehaus. The Seattle City Council will discuss the idea after the first of the year.

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Comments (11)


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  • Ye Olde Hagge wrote...
    How about renaming the whole street
    December 14, 2010 6:48 am
    Niehaus Way, Drive, Avenue, Street, whatever. I'd like Seattle to name a whole street, not just a block. How annoying is that going to get down there if every other block is named after a Mariner or a Seahawk?
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  • Newton wrote...
    Sorry about Dave Passing.
    December 14, 2010 6:49 am
    Can't we forget about the Mariners. Its a Very Sore Subject. They Lose alot and the Fans bought them a stadium. They are an embarassing Team. Do we have to name a street to remind us.
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  • hpitantso wrote...
    honor thy
    December 14, 2010 7:01 am
    Griffey's play made Dave the icon he became, why not honor both by name the north and south tunnel in both of their names
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    We need to be very conservative with "honorary" name changes for public facilities and streets
    December 14, 2010 7:02 am
    The very fact that the organizer of the street renaming effort has dropped Ken Griffey in favor of Dave Niehaus illustrates the following point:

    Dave Niehaus was an inseparable part of summer in Seattle. A talented broadcaster, Dave made listeners feel as if they were sitting in the stands at the ball park no matter where else they happened to be during a game. The entire community feels a sense of loss with his passing, and understandably so.

    Names assigned to streets, parks, schools, etc will endure for generations. There will come a day, within 100 years or so, when nobody still living will be able to remember hearing a Niehaus broadcast. Dave Niehaus will be as forgotten as the daughters of pioneer settler Wm. Bell; for whom the streets Olive and Virgina are named.

    We shouldn't rush out and rename all the streets every time a sports hero dies or retires. Of course, we could solve some of the unemployment problem; let's rename all the streets around the ballparks every week to honor the MVP of the most recent football or baseball game. Between a crew employed to hammer out new signs, a crew employed to take down "last week's hero", and a crew employed to put up new signs, redraw the street maps, change everybody's mailing addresses, etc, we could put hundreds and hundreds of people to work accomplishing nothing of any value whatsoever.

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  • Matt Lattanzi wrote...
    I am still waiting for
    December 14, 2010 7:13 am
    Jack Perconte Ct.
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  • Loud Larry wrote...
    Honorary Griffey Street
    December 14, 2010 9:49 am
    I-90 Eastbound....................... The City Council has enough items of inconsequential minutia on their agenda already. The Mariners Baseball Club have already announced that they are commissioning a statue of D. Niehaus to be prominently displayed at Safeco field. This memorial is a much more befitting tribute to the man and at no tax payer expense.
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  • Moondoggie wrote...
    .
    December 14, 2010 9:53 am
    I would love to drive past Mendosa Lane as I head north out of King County
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  • dori monson fan wrote...
    they should rename eastlake ave
    December 14, 2010 10:37 am
    To DORI DRIVE!! Now that would be cool.
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  • shadyachmed wrote...
    HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
    December 14, 2010 12:50 pm
    .
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  • C"mon Man wrote...
    Big part of local history
    December 14, 2010 3:37 pm
    Like Lenny Wilkens, Don James, Lou Pinella,Chuck Knox, Dennis Erickson,Mike Price, all Icon's in Washington sports. Ken Griffey jr was a big part of Seattle sports history. He was a big part of why we still have a team. It seemed during the 90's every kid had a "24" jersey. He's probably was the most feared M's hitter ever. Hook him up.
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