Scope and Content Note
The records of the Gridiron Club, a journalistic organization founded in 1885 whose members represent major newspapers, news services, news magazines, and broadcast networks, span the years 1885-1988. The collection consists of correspondence, writings, membership books, autograph albums, dinner programs and menus, financial records, newspaper clippings, printed matter, scrapbooks, slides, photographs, and other records relating primarily to the club's annual dinner hosting members of the press, the president, and other elected officials and political figures. The dinners feature satirical pieces and musical skits by members of the club and remarks of a humorous or self-deprecatory nature by the president and representatives of each political party.
The records are organized into two series with overlapping dates: Series A, 1886-1981 and Series B, 1888-1985. The interrelated series reflect an arrangement that was affected at the time of processing by restrictions that once existed on parts of the collection.