Books and articles about Tom Yawkey

Yawkey spent 44 years as the sole owner of the Boston Red Sox, often spending lavishly in pursuit of a winner. Yawkey was born Thomas Austin; his grandfather had a lumber and iron empire worth millions and was negotiating to purchase the Detroit Tigers when he died. Tom's uncle completed the deal, and when Tom's father died, the uncle adopted the boy, who took the Yawkey name. Tom inherited a sizable estate when the elder Yawkey died. Armed with a degree from the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale, he actively headed up the family business empire. In 1933, at the age of 30, he paid Bob Quinn $1.5 million for the Red Sox, and found himself with a perennial second-division club and a decaying Fenway Park.

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RELATED LINKS » 1936: Pains and Streaks and Tears Submissions » Tom Yawkey Remembered by John E. Taylor, III

Yawkey quickly hired an astute baseball man in Eddie Collins, and spent another $1.5 million to refurbish Fenway Park. With Collins supplying the know-how and Yawkey the money, the Red Sox brought future Hall of Famers Rick Ferrell, Joe Cronin, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Bobby Doerr, and Ted Williams to Boston. Yawkey never lost his willingness to open his coffers for proven players or to pay his players handsomely even before it was normal to do so. Only three times did his beloved Red Sox reward him with the AL pennant - in 1946, 1967, and 1975. And they never won a World Series.

Yawkey took great pride in becoming a pillar in the baseball world. Yet he was not active in social circles, and was more at ease in his baseball togs, working out on the Fenway diamond. Respected for the sound baseball advice he gave to other owners, Yawkey was named to the Hall of Fame by the Committee on Baseball Veterans in 1980, four years after his death. He left the Red Sox to be operated by his widow, Jean Yawkey. (EW)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » February 25, 1933: Multimillionaire sportsman Tom Yawkey buys the Boston Red Sox from the broke Robert Quinn. Young Tom's father, William Austin, was negotiating to buy the Tigers when he died and William Yawkey completed the deal. William Yawkey then adopted young Tom, who took on the Yawkey name and now uses his inheritance to buy the Red Sox. Yawkey intends to rebuild Fenway to boost attendance, which skidded to 182,150 last season. He also hires Eddie Collins as vice-president and GM. » September 19, 1934: Tom Yawkey decides to eliminate advertising on fences at Fenway Park. » September 22, 1935: Competing for prizes donated by Tom Yawkey, the Yanks also defeat the Sox in the pre-game Field Day, winning four of five events. Ben Chapman wins the 75-yard dash nipping Jesse Hill by a yard. Recently acquired Sox Skinny Graham is 3rd. The lone Sox triumph comes when catcher Rick Ferrell throws into a barrel at 2B on the fly; Joe Glenn's is in the barrel but on the bounce Glenn is tops in fungo hitting with a 350-foot drive, and the Yankees win the walking relay in, well, a walk. Chief interest is the final event, the four-man relay around the bases, with each runner completing a circuit. Clocked in 57.2 seconds, the Yankee squad of Selkirk, Hill, Rolfe, and Chapman pass the baton ahead of the quartet of Almada, Graham, Johnson, and Cooke. The field day will be repeated next Sunday at the Stadium. » July 30, 1936: The Boston Red Sox, led by owner Tom Yawkey and accompanied by AL President Will Harridge, fly from St. Louis to Chicago aboard one plane. Five players elect to take the train. In 1934, the Reds flew from Cincinnati to Chicago, but divided the players among three planes. Some of the Reds still chose to take the train. » September 29, 1947: Joe McCarthy, who led the Yankees to 9 pennants, is coaxed out of retirement and signs to manage the Red Sox. Joe Cronin will become general manager of Tom Yawkey's team. » November 22, 1957: Mickey Mantle edges Ted Williams 233 to 209 votes to win the American League MVP. Williams, at 39 years of age, led the league in hitting with a .388 average, hit 38 home runs, and compiled a slugging average of .731. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey brands the voting "incompetent and unqualified," noting that two Chicago writers listed Williams in the 9th and 10th places on their ballots. » September 17, 1968: Detroit clinches the AL pennant with a 2–1 win over the Yankees. Detroit is ahead 1–0 when Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey phones Tiger GM Jim Campbell with the news that the Sox have beaten the Orioles, clinching the pennant for the Tigers. Campbell keeps the score off the radio and the scoreboard, fearing the news will send fans rampaging onto the field. Don Wert singles home the winner in the 9th and the fans tear down the left field screen. » August 21, 1974: Red Sox pitcher Roger Moret earns a new contract from Tom Yawkey today by tossing a one-hitter against the visiting White Sox, to win, 4–0. Dick Allen's 7th inning single is the lone hit as Moret strikes out 12. » July 18, 1975: In a 9–3 win over the Kansas City Royals, Boston's Jim Rice clouts a tremendous homer over the CF wall at Fenway, to the right of the flag pole, just the 6th player to accomplish this feat. Owner Tom Yawkey calls it the longest shot he's ever seen at Fenway. The others: Detroit's Hank Greenberg, May 22, 1937; Boston's Jimmie Foxx, August 12, 1937; Yankees Bill Skowron, April 20, 1957; Boston's Carl Yastrzemski, May 16, 1970; Brewers Bob Mitchell, September 29, 1973. » July 9, 1976: Boston Red Sox owner and president Tom Yawkey dies. » March 12, 1980: Slugger Chuck Klein and former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Yawkey is the first club owner selected who never served as a player, manager, or general manager. » August 3, 1980: Al Kaline, Duke Snider, Chuck Klein, and Tom Yawkey are inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.