Grissom originally played baseball in the local Farm Bureau League when a local scout spotted him and signed him to a professional contract. He pitched for the Mission Reds in the Pacific Coast League in 1933, where he was then discovered by Charles E. Chapman, a college scouter for the Reds, and was signed before the 1934 season to a contract by Cincinnati general manager Larry MacPhail to play for the Reds.\n', '

Born in Sherman, Texas, Grissom made his debut with the Reds on September 2, 1934 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched four games in 1934, and in 1935 he started three games, winning and losing one each. During the 1935 season, he was recognized by The Sporting News as a "Minor Worth Watching". He continued to move between the majors and minors during these two seasons and in 1936. He played six games, starting four and pitching nearly 25 innings.\n', '

In 1937 Grissom had his best season, and became a regular on the pitching staff. Before the season started, however, he became well known as a result of a flood. In late January, Cincinnati had the worst flood in its history, with Crosley Field being covered by as much as 21 feet of water. Grissom and Gene Schott rowed a boat out from the center field wall, and the resulting photo appeared across the country. During the season, he was selected to the All-Star Game in his only appearance, pitching an inning for the National League. He pitched in the bottom of the fifth inning, striking out Lou Gehrig and Earl Averill, yet surrendered doubles to Joe Cronin and Bill Dickey, with Cronin scoring a run on Dickey\'s hit, before ending the inning by making Sam West fly out. He finished the 1937 Cincinnati Reds season with a record of 12–17, an earned run average of 3.26 and 149 strikeouts, and finished tied for 19th in the NL\'s MVP voting.\n', '

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