Grissom was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the second-youngest of sixteen children of Marion and Julia Grissom. Grissom was one of fifteen children who survived infancy. He grew up in Red Oak, Georgia in a house which his father built from scratch while working on the assembly line at a Ford plant. Grissom could not afford to play organized baseball in early childhood. When Grissom was 8 or 10 years old, he struck a police officer\'s Cadillac with a rock thrown from a great distance. The officer, who was impressed by the throw, agreed not to charge Grissom if the latter would join his youth baseball team.\n', '

Grissom attended Lakeshore High School in College Park, Georgia, just south of Atlanta. He was offered college scholarships in baseball, football and track and field. Grissom was drafted out of high school by the Cincinnati Reds and offered a $17,000 signing bonus but was convinced by his parents and high school coach to instead play college baseball.\n', '

Grissom played baseball at Florida A&M University, and in 1988, the Montreal Expos selected him with the 76th overall pick in the June draft, as part of that draft\'s third round. He had been considered a prospect as both a pitcher and an outfielder, but the Expos decided to have him abandon the mound and work solely as a position player. He made his professional debut with the Jamestown Expos of the New York–Penn League that fall and advanced quickly through the system, first appearing in the majors on August 22, 1989. He showed steady improvement for the next few seasons, gradually developing into a star as Montreal\'s leadoff hitter and center fielder. He led the National League in stolen bases in 1991 and 1992, was a member of the NL All-Star team in 1993 and 1994, and won four consecutive Gold Gloves, the first coming in 1993.\n', '

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