Marquis Grissom has had one of the best Major League Baseball Careers. He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves, took home four straight Gold Glove Awards from 1993-96, made a couple All-Star teams and spent 17 seasons playing at the game’s highest level.
He played his last game in 2005. He knew exactly what would come next for him: the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association, a nonprofit organization that’s helped a new generation of players live the same dream Grissom did for nearly two decades.
Grissom founded the MGBA in 2006 with the mission to provide athletes in underserved communities the opportunity to compete in a competitive baseball league. He sponsors travel baseball teams around the Atlanta area, ranging from age 7-22, while also providing coaching, mentoring, college placement assistance, tutoring and scholarship in his hometown.
“I had some people that were very instrumental in my growing up and upbringing that really invested a lot of time with me, so I kind of knew what I was going to do once I retired,” Grissom said in a phone interview. “I even knew what I was gonna do, whether I made it to the league or not gonna make it to the league. I always wanted to go back and help kids follow their dreams and continue to dream and try to be whatever you think you are capable of being.”
