Tom Yawkey owned the Boston Red Sox for 44 years, longer than any other owner in team history. He was beloved by his players and was popular among the fans and media. As the years have gone on though, his legacy has become more clouded with revelations about his potential involvement in the team's inability to integrate in the 1940's and 1950's. The street that was once named after him in front of Fenway Park has been renamed as the team has tried to distance itself from Yawkey.
Yawkey likely deserves at least some of the criticism for not integrating earlier. He was the owner after all and could have forced the issue. He also likely should be criticized for being unable to field a championship team. The Red Sox contended for much of Yawkey's ownership, but only made the World Series three times, each time losing in seven games. Had the team been able to strike a better balance between player development and bringing in big stars, they may have won more. The team though often seemed to be in one phase or the other, and almost never both. When Yawkey first bought the team, the team had very few good players and no real farm system. Yawkey resorted to buying players from teams that were struggling financially. By the 1940's the team was developing its own stars, but not spending as much on outside talent, and in particular, did not have enough pitching. Then the 1950's saw the Red Sox try, but largely fail, to develop good players, and this was where not bringing in the talented black players hurt the team the most. There was a massive influx of talent as other teams signed players from the Negro Leagues, but Boston, for whatever reason, did not get involved. The team finally started to come back around in the late 1960's and early 1970's when Yawkey brought in GM Dick O'Connell, who had a clear plan. The team fought its way back into contention with some of the most balanced rosters they ever had under Yawkey's ownership. Yawkey though, died in 1976, never achieving his dream of seeing the Red Sox win the World Series.
As I said, there is a fair amount to criticize about Yawkey. But one thing is clear: if not for Yawkey, the Red Sox may not still exist. When Yawkey took over the team, the Red Sox had been a bottom-dwelling team for more than a decade. Since 1919, the team was more known selling its only good players away than for anything it did on the field. Yawkey put an end to that, fixed up Fenway Park, and brought good players in. He essentially saved the franchise from oblivion. And for that, he does deserve to be remembered.
Yawkey has an extremely complicated legacy. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. I think it is safe to say that if he was eligible today, he likely would not be elected, but that does not mean that his election was unwarranted at the time. I really cannot say whether he should have been elected or not. I do not think there is any clear standards for executives to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Yawkey revitalized an organization and ran it for 44 years. That cannot really be said of that many other executives in the Hall.
No comments:
Post a Comment