Legendary Maysvillian Arthur "Punk" Griffin passed away this morning. For those of you who don't know, he was scorekeeper for the Maysville Bulldogs, as well as for 39th District and 10th Region tourneys for years and years. He is a member of the region's hall of fame too. Punk just wrapped up his 51st season making college football picks -- eloquently entitled Punk's Picks -- for the Ledger Independent just before the bowl season began. You can ask anyone involved with the Reds, UK, or the most of the 10th region area for the last 50-plus years and they know who Punk is. It's a sad day for a lot of us here in Maysville. Please keep Punk's family in your prayers.

That is sad, I always enjoyed reading Punk's Picks. May he rest in peace. Prayers from me.

I agree. Always looked forward to seeing who he would pick. RIP Mr. Griffin.

Not only did the sports world lose a great friend, but so have I.

He was the type of person that you could not talk to for just a second. He was the type of person that you never wanted to end a conversation with because you enjoyed it so much.

"Punk" was a walking history book. Not only about sports but the Maysville area. There are a million stories that could be told, but one of my favorites is that several members of the media were attending a Reds event and they could not find Punk when they were ready to leave. Come to find out Punk was on the Reds team bus talking to Marty and Joe. Just about everytime Punk went to a Reds game he ended up in the booth with them.

 

I will really miss him. I made it a point to interview him at every state tournament. (16 years straight) Last year we kept the tradition alive and I am really glad I was able to do that one last time.

 

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Punk Griffen was a GREAT man. He attended my church in Maysville and I have grown to know him, his daughter, son in law, and grandsons through church events. They are great people. Punk always had a smile on his face and was pleasent to be around.

 

The world has lost a good one....

I really hate to hear this. I always read his article every Sat. during football season. Maysville has lost a good one as has the 10th Region.

Punk Griffith was a true legend and a true gentlemen.

He will be sorely missed by anyone who came into contact with this fine man.

I got to know Arthur "Punk" Griffin back in the late 80's when he was the scorekeeper for the Maysville Bulldogs, coached by a young man who wore a travel suit - Mike Reitz. They were playing in the All "A" tournament at Brossart when it was an invitational event spread out at various sites around Northern Kentucky.

 

I made sure that Punk had access to a phone every night so that he could call the box scores back to Maysville and to Lexington. He would also attend the St. Patrick games when we played down there and because he didn't drive, I often took him home, and was always asked in for cookies and coffee, before heading back up Route 8 to Alexandria.

 

A man of small stature, who walked with a slight waddle, was a fixture all all sporting events in the Maysville area and enjoyed his Saturday afternoons down at the Maysville OTB, making a wager or two on the bangtails.

 

He always was easy to spot, wearing oversized colorful sports jackets as he sat in the endzone keeping the score of each and every state tournament in an old-fashioned style miniature scorebook. I believe he held the official title of "State Tournament Historian," and probably unoffically as Mr. Tenth Region basketball.

 

I'll always remember him as part of our 10th Region Championship in 2000 and being a part of our state tournament experience.

 

Maysville, 10th Region basketball, and this Commonwealth has lost a legend!

 

Rest in peace Punky, from a "yankee" who you befriended and allowed to be a part of your very wide inner-circle of friends.

 

I will never forget you! :cry:

RIP, Punk.:cry:

Great guy. He was probably into sports more than anyone I have ever known. I got to know him real well when I played for Maysville High School. Laurnie Caproni had a wonderful write-up on Punk in today's Maysville Ledger Independent. He will be truly missed.

I was sorry to see this thread dry up so quickly.

 

I thought that I'd run it back to the top, for the guys who read BGP on Monday at work to chime in. Maybe there are a few other old-timers out there who might want to make an entry, or weren't aware that Punk had passed away.

 

M

Thanks Mustang. I wanted to post a link to this, but I've not yet been able to find it officially. I heard they were holding a spot open for Punk on press row for this year's Sweet 16. If it's not true, I hope there's a way to make it so. If it is, it's a great honor for a truly nice gentleman.

 

Speaking of links, since no one has posted it:

http://www.maysville-online.com/articles/2008/01/13/local_news/1712griffin.txt

 

Mr. Hopwood wrote in there about him calling me at least once a week, which is true. And the conversation would always start by me saying, "Sports, this is Jonathan," and Punkin replying, "It is?!" Everytime, it put a smile on my face. And, ostensibly, he would be calling to make sure I got his picks column (if it was in-season), but once I would say yeah, it would quickly devolve into a 30-minute conversation about the Reds and/or UK. I could never tell which he loved more. I wish I had still been at the Ledger a little longer if for no other reason than to hear his thoughts on the Josh Hamilton trade. My bet is he would've been pretty fired up about it.

 

Another story I love to tell is when I went to RedsFest two years ago. Chuck Hamilton at the Ledger had just written a column interviewing Tom Browning about his (then) new book. I went to get Tom's autograph, and told him I worked with Chuck, and he told me to thank him for the great column. And immediately he then asked, "Do you know Punk? How's he doing?" At the time, he was in the VA hospital in Lexington recovering from a hip injury, and I was told that the next time Punk called me, to let him know Tom Browning was asking about him.

 

Again, thanks Mustang for bringing this back up. I hope everyone gets the chance to tell their favorite Punk stories.

Class act and a great man. He will be greatly missed.:cry:

I never got to know Mr. Griffin personally but I know how much he meant to this part of the world as far as local sports goes. I did get lucky enough to speak to him a couple of times, his knowledge had no limits. I've never been a big college football fan so I looked to "Punk's Picks" to let me know what was going to happen every Saturday. I look forward to him being remembered at the Sweet 16. May God be with his famiy and friends

left behind.

Today is a very sad say.

I was fortunate enough to have Punk set beside me during the 2004, 2005 state tournaments at press row.

I learned a lot from him.

I'll never forget how happy he was when MASON WON THE STATE CROWN A FEW YEARS BACK.

He will be missed. That's for sure.