Tom Yawkey

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}{{Infobox person

| name = Tom Yawkey

| image = Tom Yawkey NYWTS (cropped).jpg

| caption = Yawkey in 1938

| birth_name = Thomas Yawkey Austin

| birth_date = {{birth date|1903|2|21}}

| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1976|7|9|1903|2|21}}

| death_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| other_names =

| known_for = Owner of the Boston Red Sox (1933–1976)

| alma_mater = Yale University

| employer =

| title =

| height =

| party =

| occupation = Baseball executive

| boards =

| spouse = {{ubl|

{{marriage|Elise Sparrow|1925|1944|reason=divorce}}
{{marriage|Jean Hiller|1944}}

}}

| children = 1

| relatives = Bill Yawkey (uncle)

| signature =

| module= {{Infobox baseball biography

|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

|hoftype = National

|hofdate=1980

|hofmethod=Veterans Committee

|embed=yes

}}

Thomas Austin Yawkey (born Thomas Yawkey Austin; February 21, 1903 – July 9, 1976) was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933 and was the sole owner of the team for 44 seasons until he died of leukemia. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.

Early life

File:Tom_Yawkey_circa_1919.jpeg

Yawkey was born in Detroit on February 21, 1903, to insurance executive Thomas J. Austin and his wife Augusta.{{Cite news|last=Rogers|first=Thomas|date=1976-07-10|title=The Sportsman Owner|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/10/archives/the-sportsman-owner.html|access-date=2021-04-28|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Driscoll |first=Edgar |date=10 July 1976 |title=Tom Yawkey, Red Sox owner, dies at 73 |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/1976/07/10/tom-yawkey-red-sox-owner-dies/HnDKMujvXmmjzT71xfMSmK/story.html |access-date=2021-04-28 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}} Augusta was the eldest child of William Clyman Yawkey, who had become wealthy in the lumber and iron ore industries of the Midwestern United States. In addition to these interests, William Clyman Yawkey had agreed to buy the Detroit Tigers baseball team in 1903, but died before the deal closed.{{Cite book |last=Frost |first=Mark |url= |title=Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime |date=2009-09-22 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-1-4013-9481-3 |pages=1955 |language=en}} His son, William H. "Bill" Yawkey, completed the purchase with Frank Navin in late 1903.{{Cite news |date=1904-01-23 |title=Angus Leaves Ball Team |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean-bill-yawkey-purchase-of/333835/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Inter Ocean |pages=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=1935-11-14 |title=Navin Will Be Buried Saturday, Five Weeks After Achieving Goal That He Had Sought for 32 Years |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-navin-will-be-buried/4758930/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=Detroit Free Press |pages=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}

When Yawkey was about six months old, his father died.{{cite news |date=September 19, 1903 |title=Death Came to Him Yesterday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59811688/death-came-to-him-yesterday/ |access-date=September 22, 2020 |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} After his father's death, Yawkey and his mother moved to New York City to live with his uncle, William Yawkey. Throughout his life, Yawkey maintained a residence in New York City.{{Cite book|last=Nowlin|first=Bill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RuhCDwAAQBAJ|title=Tom Yawkey: Patriarch of the Boston Red Sox|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-4962-0441-7|pages=384|language=en}}{{Cite news |date=1976-07-17 |title=Yawkey Will Probated |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brattleboro-reformer-yawkey-will-pro/155895793/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Brattleboro Reformer |pages=8 |via=Newspapers.com}} In September 1918, William adopted 15-year-old Tom after his mother died.{{Cite news |date=1919-03-17 |title=Boy Heir to Big Fortune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-boy-heir-to-big-for/155895905/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=Lincoln Journal Star |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}} His last name was changed to Yawkey after the adoption.

Bill Yawkey died in 1919 and left half of his $40 million (roughly $644 million in 2022) estate to Tom.{{cite news |date=March 7, 1919 |title=Millions in Sight for a Youth of 14 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59701946/millions-in-sight-for-a-youth-of-14/ |access-date=September 21, 2020 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=1919-03-18|title=SCHOOLBOY OF 16 INHERITS $20,000,000; Nephew of William H. Yawkey, Later Adopted, Gets Half of Foster-Father's Estate. HALF A MILLION FOR SISTER Widow to Decide Upon Gifts for Philanthropy--Servants Generously Remembered.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/03/18/archives/schoolboy-of-16-inherits-20000000-nephew-of-william-h-yawkey-later.html|access-date=2021-04-28|issn=0362-4331}} A clause in the will created two trusts that he gained access to at 25 and 30 years old. Yawkey graduated from the Irving School in Tarrytown, NY in 1920 and from the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University in 1925. While at Yale, Yawkey was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.{{Cite web|last=Ballou|first=Bill|title=Bill Ballou: How different would things be if Winfield Schuster of Douglas bought the Red Sox in 1932?|url=https://www.telegram.com/news/20180520/bill-ballou-how-different-would-things-be-if-winfield-schuster-of-douglas-bought-red-sox-in-1932|access-date=2021-04-28|website=telegram.com|language=en}}

Boston Red Sox

Having met as alumni of the Irving School, Yawkey and Eddie Collins, a former Philadelphia Athletics second baseman, discussed purchasing a baseball team in 1933, when Yawkey was due to turn 30 and gain full access to his fortune.{{Cite news |last=Reston |first=James B. |date=1934-11-10 |title=Yawkey Takes Wife's Advice and Buys Red Sox Ball Club |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-newark-advocate-yawkey-takes-wifes/155895844/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Newark Advocate |page=6 |agency=Associated Press}}{{Cite news |date=1951-03-26 |title=Eddie Collins Dies at 63; One of Baseball's All-Time Greats and Hall of Fame Players |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-eddie-collins-dies-at-6/155895967/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Morning Call |pages=12 |via=Newspapers.com}} Collins found a potential target in the Boston Red Sox, who had spent the last fourteen years as one of the worst teams in baseball. Former owner Harry Frazee had been forced to sell most of his best players to the New York Yankees due to chronic cash shorts. His successor, Bob Quinn, had been grossly underfinanced since the illness and death of a major investor.{{cite web |author1=Armour |first=Mark |author2=Levitt |first2=Daniel R. |date=2017 |title=Boston Red Sox team ownership history |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/boston-red-sox-team-ownership-history/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research}} By the 1932–33 offseason, Quinn was so strapped that he had to borrow against his life insurance to send the team to spring training.{{Cite web |last=Costello |first=Rory |title=Bob Quinn |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Bob-Quinn/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research |language=en-US}}

Collins arranged a meeting between Quinn and Yawkey during the 1932 World Series; he later agreed to come to the Red Sox if Yawkey purchased the team. On February 25, 1933, Yawkey bought the Red Sox for $1.25 million,{{Cite news|date=1933-02-26|title=YAWKEY, COLLINS BUY THE RED SOX; Wealthy New Yorker Becomes Club President and Athletics' Ex-Star His Assistant. PLEDGE WORK TO REBUILD New Owners Determined to Put Boston at Top Again -- Price Put at $1,000,000. YAWKEY, COLLINS BUY THE RED SOX PRESIDENT OF RED SOX.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/02/26/archives/yawkey-collins-buy-the-red-sox-wealthy-new-yorker-becomes-club.html|access-date=2021-04-28|issn=0362-4331}} five days after Yawkey turned 30. He became team president, giving Collins control of day-to-day operations as vice president and general manager (posts Collins held until 1947).{{Cite news |date=1933-02-25 |title=Boston Red Sox Sold to Eddie Collins and New York Sportsman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-st-louis-star-and-times-boston-red/155896151/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The St. Louis Star and Times |pages=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Yawkey inherited a team that had finished the 1932 season with a record of {{Winning percentage|43|111|record=y}}, the worst in franchise history. Yawkey and Collins attempted to build a successful team by acquiring talented players.{{cite book |last=Golenbock |first=Peter |url= |title=Red Sox Nation: The Rich and Colorful History of the Boston Red Sox |date=2015 |publisher=Triumph Books LLC |isbn=978-1-62937-050-7 |location=Chicago, Ill. |pages=88–91}} He also spent $1.5 million on repairs to Fenway Park,{{cite book |last=Golenbock |first=Peter |url= |title=Red Sox Nation: The Rich and Colorful History of the Boston Red Sox |date=2015 |publisher=Triumph Books LLC |isbn=978-1-62937-050-7 |location=Chicago, Ill. |page=90}} giving it much of its present look.

In 1934, the Red Sox reached a winning percentage of .500 for the first time since winning the 1918 World Series. In 1937, they achieved a first winning record for the first time since 1918, and in 1938 they finished in the first division for the first time since 1918. When it became apparent that buying top level major league players wasn't enough to surpass the Yankees and Detroit Tigers, Yawkey began building a minor-league system as well.

Under Yawkey, the Jimmy Fund became the official charity of the team in 1953.{{Cite web |date=2001-01-22 |title=Einar Gustafson Dies at 65 |url=https://apnews.com/article/ae95a11400f059c4bbe4dec9b6134f3f |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428195118/https://apnews.com/article/ae95a11400f059c4bbe4dec9b6134f3f |archive-date=2021-04-28 |access-date= |website=AP News}}{{Cite web |last=Richard |first=Mike |date=2007-08-21 |title=Local Jimmy Fund squads help raise funds for worthy cause |url=https://www.thegardnernews.com/story/news/2007/08/21/local-jimmy-fund-squads-help/11302155007/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=The Gardner News |language=en}} In 1957, Yawkey was elected chairman of the Jimmy Fund's board of trustees and helped establish the tradition of the Red Sox playing exhibition games to raise money for the fund.{{Cite news |date=1957-07-16 |title=Yawkey and Perini on 'Jimmy Fund' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bennington-evening-banner-yawkey-and/155897071/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Bennington Evening Banner |pages=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Yawkey spent millions in his effort to build winning teams. In the first seven years of his ownership, the Red Sox lost $1.7 million, more than he had paid to buy the team. Yawkey spent around an additional $3 million during that time on buying players, renovating Fenway Park, and other capital expenses. In 1974, Yawkey estimated his ownership of the team had cost him over $10 million. The Red Sox won the American League pennant in 1946 (their first pennant since 1918), 1967, and 1975, but then went on to lose each World Series in seven games, against the St. Louis Cardinals (1946, 1967) and the Cincinnati Reds (1975).{{Cite magazine|last=Corcoran|first=Cliff|title=Looking back at the three previous Red Sox-Cardinals World Series confrontations|url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2013/10/22/red-sox-cardinals-world-series-1946-1967-2004-2013|access-date=2021-04-28|magazine=Sports Illustrated|language=en-us}} Yawkey never achieved his goal of winning a world championship.{{cite web|title=Boston Red Sox Team History & Encyclopedia|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/|access-date=January 14, 2017|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}{{Cite book|last=Nowlin|first=Bill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RuhCDwAAQBAJ|title=Tom Yawkey: Patriarch of the Boston Red Sox|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-4962-0441-7|pages=377|language=en}}

According to two anonymous sources in an article by Jeff Passan in 2011, Yawkey kept Donald Fitzpatrick, an equipment manager for the Red Sox, employed despite private allegations of sexual assault against Fitzpatrick.{{Cite web|title=Way back when, Sox had their own scandal|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/boston-red-sox/way-back-when-sox-had-their-own-scandal|access-date=2021-04-29|website=RSN|language=en}} However, no public allegations against Fitzpatrick were made until 1991, 15 years after Yawkey's death.

=Racism and racial integration of the Red Sox=

The Red Sox were the first MLB team to sign a Mexican-born player, fielding Mel Almada on September 8, 1933.{{Cite web|last=Speier|first=Alex|date=3 May 2018|title=The Red Sox are expanding their scouting in Mexico. Here's why - The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/05/03/hector-velazquez-represents-red-sox-commitment-scouting-mexico/qRBLzBb1WtpmTIetA4kdoJ/story.html|access-date=2021-04-30|website=BostonGlobe.com}} However, they were the last major league team to add a black player to their roster, allegedly due to Yawkey and the managers he hired being racists.Bryant

According to the Boston Herald, as owner of the Boston Red Sox, the team's integration policy was Yawkey's responsibility.{{Cite web|date=2018-03-15|title=Yawkey Way hearing draws passionate testimony on race and Red Sox|url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/03/15/yawkey-way-hearing-draws-passionate-testimony-on-race-and-red-sox/|access-date=2021-04-29|website=Boston Herald|language=en-US}} In 1945, Red Sox held a farce tryout chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. Muchnick.Simon, pp. 46–47. Jackie Robinson, who would later play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was subjected to racial epithets by management{{cite web |date=October 11, 2002 |title=The Boston Red Sox and Racism: With New Owners, Team Confronts Legacy of Intolerance |url=https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/oct/redsox/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405032805/http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/oct/redsox/ |archive-date=April 5, 2008 |access-date=April 21, 2018 |publisher=National Public Radio |df=mdy-all}} and left the tryout humiliated.Bryant, p. 31.

Attempts to integrate between 1945 and 1959 were unsuccessful. Joe Cronin, general manager after Eddie Collins, scouted black players, including Sam Jethroe, Larry Doby and Bill Greason but none signed with the team.{{Cite book|last=Armour|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nGZ9CyVWkmQC|title=Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball|date=2010-04-01|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-2996-9|pages=211–213|language=en}} In 1950, the team signed Lorenzo Piper Davis, their first black player, for their minor league team, but he was released in May of that year.{{Cite news |date=1950-05-16 |title=Red Sox to Feature New Players in Stadium Tilts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-tribune-red-sox-to-feature-new/155897142/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Times-Tribune |pages=29 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=1949-12-17 |title=Davis Released |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-pittsburgh-courier-davis-released/155897170/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=New Pittsburgh Courier |pages=23 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=1997-05-23|title=Piper Davis, 79, Star Infielder And Manager in Negro Leagues|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/23/sports/piper-davis-79-star-infielder-and-manager-in-negro-leagues.html|access-date=2021-04-30|issn=0362-4331}} Three years later, the team signed Earl Wilson to their minor league team, but his career was interrupted by serving in the Marines in 1957.{{Cite web|date=2005-04-26|title=Earl Wilson, 70; First Black Signed by Boston Red Sox Had No-Hitter|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-26-me-wilson27-story.html|access-date=2021-04-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=1957-04-02 |title=Boston's First Negro Player Will Enlist |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/great-falls-tribune-bostons-first-negro/155897196/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=Great Falls Tribune |pages=11 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite web|last=Mann|first=Jack|title=THE GREAT WALL OF BOSTON|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/06/28/the-great-wall-of-boston|access-date=2021-04-30|website=Sports Illustrated Vault {{!}} SI.com|language=en-us}} Wilson would later return to the Sox's Minneapolis farm team after completing his military service and be fielded by the Sox in July 1959.{{Cite news |date=1959-03-03 |title=Murphy Checks on Miller Aid |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-murphy-checks-on-miller-aid/155893154/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=Star Tribune |pages=19 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite magazine|last=Corcoran|first=Cliff|title=Sons of Jackie Robinson: Remembering the players who broke the color line for the other 15 teams of that era|url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2014/04/15/jackie-robinson-day-mlb-integration-ernie-banks-elston-howard-larry-doby|access-date=2021-04-30|magazine=Sports Illustrated|language=en-us}}

In 1956, The Boston Globe published an article discussing the Red Sox's lack of black players on the team, in which manager Joe Cronin denied prejudice allegations.{{Cite news |last=Holbrook |first=Bob |date=1956-07-15 |title=Red Sox Eager to Sign Negro Players |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-red-sox-eager-to-sign-n/142322819/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=58 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=1956-07-15 |title=Cronin Denies Rumors, Gives Evidence Proving Club's Good Intentions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-cronin-denies-rumors-g/155893065/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=63 |via=Newspapers.com}} The article reported that the Red Sox had made an offer of $115,000 for Charlie Neal in 1954, but the offer was rejected.

Despite the Red Sox having multiple black players in their farm system during the 1950s, the team did not promote any of them to the major league until 1959.{{cite book|last=Golenbock|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggPooQEACAAJ&q=red+sox+nation+peter+golenbock|title=Red Sox Nation: The Rich and Colorful History of the Boston Red Sox|date=2015|publisher=Triumph Books LLC|isbn=978-1-62937-050-7|location=Chicago, Ill.|pages=224–229}} On July 21, 1959, Pumpsie Green, who was signed by the team in 1955, made his debut,{{Cite web|last=Koch|first=Bill|title=Pumpsie Green, 1st black player on Boston Red Sox, dies|url=https://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20190717/pumpsie-green-1st-black-player-on-boston-red-sox-dies|access-date=2021-04-30|website=providencejournal.com|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Richard|date=2019-07-18|title=Pumpsie Green, First Black Player for Boston Red Sox, Dies at 85|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/17/sports/baseball/pumpsie-green-died.html|access-date=2021-04-30|issn=0362-4331}} making the Red Sox the final major league team to integrate its roster.{{cite web |last=O'Connell |first=Jack |date=April 13, 2007 |title=Robinson's many peers follow his lead |url=http://mlbnetwork.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070412&content_id=1895202&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822072051/http://mlbnetwork.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070412&content_id=1895202&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |archive-date=August 22, 2011 |access-date=December 24, 2017 |work=MLB.com}}

In 1967, the Red Sox fielded a team with a starting lineup including multiple black players, such as George Scott and Reggie Smith.{{Cite news|last=Rhoden|first=William C.|date=2013-10-30|title=Jackie Robinson's Legacy Recedes on Baseball Rosters|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/sports/baseball/jackie-robinsons-legacy-recedes-on-baseball-rosters.html|access-date=2021-04-30|issn=0362-4331}} However, the Red Sox did not sign any Black free agents between the 1972 start of the free agency system and 1993, thereby missing out on a substantial portion of top baseball talent during that twenty-one year period. {{Cite web |last=Rosenthal |first=Ken |date=2008-11-14 |title=Will Non-White Free Agents Shun the Red Sox? |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/68704-will-non-white-free-agents-shun-the-red-sox |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}}

Death and legacy

Image:Fenway Park01.jpg main entrance on the then Yawkey Way in 2007]]

Yawkey died from leukemia in Boston on July 9, 1976. His wife, Jean R. Yawkey, became president of the club following his death.{{Cite news |date=1992-02-27 |title=Yawkey never won big one - but she never wasted time complaining, either |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-yawkey-never-won-big-on/155897233/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=46 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Ken |date=1992-02-26 |title=Red Sox owner Jean Yawkey dead at 83 |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/02/26/Red-Sox-owner-Jean-Yawkey-dead-at-83/8623699080400/ |access-date=2021-05-03 |website=UPI |language=en}} Yawkey was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.{{Cite news|last=Rosen|first=ron|date=1980-03-13|title=Klein, Yawkey in Hall|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/03/13/klein-yawkey-in-hall/eb22bd2f-0c62-4fe8-abd3-7f0ddd641947/|access-date=2021-05-03|issn=0190-8286}}

= The Yawkey Foundation =

The Yawkey Foundation was established in 1976 through a bequest in his will.{{Cite news |date=1976-07-17 |title=Yawkey's will establishes $10m charity foundation |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-yawkeys-will-establish/155897275/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=21 |via=Newspapers.com}} Yawkey set aside $10 million in his will, which was probated in New York, to establish the foundation. In 1982, Jean Yawkey created a second Yawkey Foundation.{{cite news |last1=Pope |first1=Justin |title=Yawkey Foundation faces post-Red Sox era with more money |url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20020325/News/303259968 |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=The Standard-Times |date=24 March 2002}}

In 2002, the original Foundation donated $25 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to build an outpatient center,{{Cite news |date=2002-05-07 |title=Yawkey Foundation gives $25m to MGH |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-yawkey-foundation-gives/155897335/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=17 |via=Newspapers.com}} and recorded $420 million in 2002 income after the sale of the Red Sox.

In 2003, the Foundation donated $15 million to Boston Medical Center, a safety net hospital, to build the Moakley Cancer Care Building.{{cite news |last1=Pfeiffer |first1=Sacha |title=$25m gift to Boston Medical Center will help launch opioid center - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/03/06/bmc-gets-its-largest-gift-ever-fight-drug-addiction/mH0tpibKj2QLHXmMHtkbTM/story.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=The Boston Globe |date=6 March 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Paavola |first1=Alia |title=Boston strong: Safety-net hospital raises $450M, defying expectations |url=https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/boston-strong-safety-net-hospital-raises-450m-defying-expectations.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=www.beckershospitalreview.com |date=16 October 2019}}

In 2005, the Foundation created the Yawkey Scholars Program to award college scholarships to students with demonstrated financial need.{{cite news |title=Yawkey Scholars Program awards $1 million in scholarships |url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20120719/PUB04/207190434 |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=The Standard-Times |date=19 July 2012}}

In 2007, the Yawkey Foundations donated $30 million for the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute to build the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care in Boston.{{cite web|last=Armour|first=Mark|title=Tom Yawkey|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/6382f9d5|access-date=January 14, 2017|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research}}

In 2008, the original Foundation supported the building of a new home, Jean Yawkey Place, for the Boston Health Care for the Homeless program.{{Cite news |last=Ryan |first=Andrew |date=2008-07-09 |title=Hospital for homeless moves its own home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-hospital-for-homeless-m/155897394/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=17 |via=Newspapers.com}}

In 2013, the Foundation awarded $10 million to the Museum of Science for a gallery{{cite news |last1=Kantor |first1=Ira |title=Yawkey Foundation gives $10M to Museum of Science for gallery |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2013/01/29/yawkey-foundation-gives-10m-to-museum-of-science-for-gallery/ |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=Boston Herald |date=29 January 2013}} and $3 million to Cape Cod Healthcare for an emergency center.{{cite news |last1=McCormick |first1=Cynthia |title=Cape hospitals receive $2 million for emergency center expansions |url=https://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20131028/NEWS11/131029708?template=ampart |work=Cape Cod Times |date=28 October 2013 |language=en}}

In 2014, The Foundation gave a $10 million donation to Boston University to support a paid internship program for students to work at nonprofits.{{cite news |last1=Rocheleau |first1=Matt |title=BU launches internship program with nonprofits - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/18/launches-internship-program-with-nonprofits/Vzj47Y7SNWBlsUflwN5i0H/story.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=The Boston Globe| date=18 September 2014}}

In 2018, the Foundation donated $10 million to Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital to expand the facility. Yawkey donated $100,000 to build the original hospital in 1945.{{cite news |last1=Purtell |first1=David |title=Georgetown hospital unveils name for surgery center; will receive $10 million donation |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/georgetown/community/georgetown-hospital-unveils-name-for-surgery-center-will-receive-10-million-donation/article_c8c941fb-3425-5dc8-8188-00219d52fd1c.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=Post and Courier |date=25 January 2018 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=1945-02-16 |title=$100,000 Given To Georgetown County Hospital Fund |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-index-journal-100000-given-to-geor/155897452/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Index-Journal |pages=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}

In June 2021, the Foundation donated $5 million to Franciscan Children's new mental health center.{{cite news |title=Franciscan Children's gifted $5 million for new mental health center |url=https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/suffolk-county/franciscan-childrens-gifted-5-million-new-mental-health-center/7UBZKY4QYBGCLFYPJ32SYMTK3I/ |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=Boston 25 News |date=2 June 2021 |language=en}}

= Yawkey Way =

In 1977, the section of Jersey Street where Fenway Park is located was renamed Yawkey Way in his honor.{{Cite news |date=1977-03-04 |title=Jersey St. now Yawkey Way |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-berkshire-eagle-jersey-st-now-yawke/155897476/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Berkshire Eagle |pages=28 |via=Newspapers.com}} However, in August 2017, due to Yawkey's alleged history of racism and discrimination against Black players, the Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry announced the team was seeking to change the name of the street. The following year, Henry publicly distanced the team from Yawkey, citing that he was "haunted by what went on here a long time before we arrived," referring to the team being the last in the major leagues to integrate under Tom Yawkey's guidance.{{cite news|date=August 18, 2017|title='Haunted' by past owner's history, Red Sox seek name change for Yawkey Way|newspaper=Boston Herald|url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2017/08/18/haunted-by-past-owners-history-red-sox-seek-name-change-for-yawkey-way/|access-date=March 29, 2018}}{{Cite news |date=2017-08-23 |title=The man who is Tom Yawkey |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-the-man-who-is-tom-yawk/155897503/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=B2 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The change was unanimously approved by the Boston Public Improvement Commission in April 2018, and the name reverted to Jersey Street in May 2018.{{cite news|date=May 3, 2018|title=Yawkey Way signs come down outside Fenway Park|website=Boston.com|agency=AP|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2018/05/03/yawkey-way-signs-come-down-outside-fenway-park|access-date=May 3, 2018}}{{Cite news |date=2018-04-27 |title=Yawkey name dropped from Fenway street |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-yawkey-name-dropped-fro/155897537/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=A1 |via=Newspapers.com}} Also in May, a plaque commemorating Yawkey from "his Red Sox employees," that had hung at the administrative office entrance to Fenway Park since shortly after his death was removed.{{cite magazine|last=Sullivan|first=Jack|date=May 21, 2018|title=A missing pair of Sox|url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/arts-and-culture/a-missing-pair-of-sox/|magazine=CommonWealth|access-date=May 24, 2018}} In April 2019, the MBTA Commuter Rail station near the park, Yawkey station, was renamed Lansdowne station.{{cite news|date=March 29, 2019|title=The MBTA is renaming Yawkey Station after another nearby street|website=Boston.com|publisher=Boston Globe|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/03/28/yawkey-station-is-now-lansdowne-station|access-date=March 29, 2019}}

= Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve =

Through his will, Yawkey donated three coastal islands in Georgetown, South Carolina, to the state to create a wildlife preserve.{{cite news |title=Notes on People |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/06/archives/notes-on-people-beard-is-down-to-270-after-a-2month-diet.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=6 August 1976}}{{cite news |title=Wildlife sanctuary by late Red Sox owner sought for hunting |url=https://www.thestate.com/news/local/environment/article229825934.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=The State |date=6 May 2019}} The preserve covers more than {{convert|20000|acre|km2}} of land and consists of North Island, South Island and a majority of Cat Island. It is managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.{{cite news |last1=Howard |first1=Tommy |title=State Sen. Goldfinch and SC DNR reach agreement on Yawkey Wildlife preserve |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/georgetown/news/state-sen-goldfinch-and-sc-dnr-reach-agreement-on-yawkey-wildlife-preserve/article_639190c5-5b20-52f3-a628-cf7208e2ec38.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=Post and Courier |date=9 May 2017 |language=en}}

In 1919, when Yawkey was 16, he inherited part of the land from his Uncle William, who originally purchased the land as part of the South Island Gun Club.{{cite book |last1=Nowlin |first1=Bill |title=Tom Yawkey: Patriarch of the Boston Red Sox |date=February 2018 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-1-4962-0441-7 |page=443 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RuhCDwAAQBAJ&dq=win+world+championship&pg=PA462 |access-date=5 January 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=1919-03-12 |title=Boy likely to inherit millions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brattleboro-reformer-boy-likely-to-i/155892886/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Brattleboro Reformer |pages=3}} Prior to the gun club owning the land, it was the site of multiple plantations.{{cite news |last1=Bartelme |first1=Tony |last2=Smith |first2=Glenn |title=An epic story about power, beauty and how one of South Carolina's last great places faces new threats |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/an-epic-story-about-power-beauty-and-how-one-of-south-carolinas-last-great-places/article_41fe3ca0-57e1-11e9-a0e6-a7f3be8fd25c.html |access-date=5 January 2022 |work=Post and Courier |date=14 September 2019 |language=en}}

Personal life

Yawkey married Elise Sparrow in 1925,{{cite news|last=Thomas Jr.|first=Robert McG.|author-link=Robert McG. Thomas Jr.|date=February 27, 1992|title=Jean R. Yawkey, Red Sox Owner And Philanthropist, Is Dead at 83|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/27/sports/jean-r-yawkey-red-sox-owner-and-philanthropist-is-dead-at-83.html|access-date=January 14, 2017}} and the couple adopted a daughter named Julia in July 1936.{{Cite news |date=1936-07-14 |title=The Parade in Pictures |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/battle-creek-enquirer-the-parade-in-pict/155897581/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=Battle Creek Enquirer |pages=12 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Rogers|first=Thomas|date=1976-07-10|title=The Sportsman Owner|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/10/archives/the-sportsman-owner.html|access-date=2021-05-03|issn=0362-4331}} The couple divorced in November 1944. Yawkey married Jean R. Hiller on Christmas Eve 1944.{{Cite web|last=Shaughnessy|first=Dan|title=Ex-players remember Jean Yawkey's role in Red Sox tradition|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-02-27-1992058196-story.html|access-date=2021-05-03|website=baltimoresun.com|language=en-US}} Tom and Jean Yawkey had no children. Yawkey's only sibling, his sister Emma, died in December 1963.{{cite news |date=December 13, 1963 |title=Ouerbacker, Emma Austin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59816012/ouerbacker-emma-austin/ |access-date=September 23, 2020 |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=46 |via=Newspapers.com}}

In 2018, a biography of Yawkey entitled Tom Yawkey: Patriarch of the Boston Red Sox by Bill Nowlin was published by the University of Nebraska Press.{{cite news|last=Montville|first=Leigh|author-link=Leigh Montville|date=February 2, 2018|title=Review: 'Tom Yawkey' and the Red Sox' 'Original Sin'|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/review-tom-yawkey-a-stain-on-red-sox-nation-1517608976|quote=Boston was an all-white ball club until 1959—12 years after Jackie Robinson became a Dodger.}}{{Cite news |date=2018-07-17 |title=Bill Nowlin on Tom Yawkey's life and legacy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-bill-nowlin-on-tom-yawk/155897612/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=B10 |via=Newspapers.com}}