Tom Yawkey: Patriarch of the Boston Red Sox

Author Bill Nowlin has written a thorough account of Boston Red Sox owner and philanthropist Tom Yawkey. Yawkey's reign as owner was characterized by three isms: alcoholism, cronyism, and racism. Yawkey enjoyed becoming close to his players by taking part in batting and fielding practice, chatting with them in the clubhouse, and helping them out financially when a need arose. There were players who appreciated his thoughtfulness while others took advantage of his closeness to the detriment of the manager of the team. Dick Williams, for one, despised not being looked upon as the one in charge.Yawkey's Red Sox during the 1950s were not contenders and the three isms come into play. Mr. Yawkey had a weakness for hiring cronies in various positions such as the manager or general manager of the team. He had a fixation for hiring alcoholic buffoon Mike "Pinky" Higgins as either his manager of general manager or Stanley "Bucky" Harris as his general manager. Also, the fact that the Red Sox were the last team in the major leagues to hire an African-American hurt them considerably as well. Their excuse of waiting until a qualified candidate came along doesn't hold water when other teams were hiring such future Hall of Famers such as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks not to mention others who went on to star for other teams.The book contains countless anecdotes from former players and sportswriters regarding Yawkey and the Boston Red Sox many of which I had neverheard previously. Yawkey valued his privacy and contributed to several charities and his wildlife refuge in South Carolina. Following his death the book includes the controversy over the selling of the ball club and the role of his wife Jean Yawkey.The book contains eighteen pages of photos and 454 pages of text. Red Sox fan or not this is a book that belongs in your baseball library.

Prolific author Bill Nowlin has filled a void in baseball history with his biography of Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey. Although Yawkey owned the club for more than 40 years (1933-1976) there has been little written about him. In fact, the most in-depth piece Nowlin was able to find was a nearly 4,000-word biography of Yawkey written in 2009 by Mark Armour for the SABR biography project.Yawkey, who inherited his wealth, purchased the Red Sox in February 1933, when he was just 30 years old. The Red Sox had finished last in 9 of the preceding 11 seasons. Yawkey quickly set about improving the club, spending more than $1 million to acquire veteran players Lefty Grove, Jimmy Foxx and Joe Cronin, from 1933 to 1935. He also spent more than $1 million to renovate Fenway Park. Attendance jumped from 182,150 in 1932 to 268,715 in 1933 and 610,640 in 1934.Yawkey was a loner, conservative, quiet and slightly eccentric. As a owner, his biggest mistake was adoring his players, spoiling them and treating the club as if it was a hobby instead of a business. Author David Halberstam said Yawkey "was second to none when it came to coddling."Yawkey created a "country club atmosphere" that, according to some, helped turned the Red Sox into a bunch of lazy, unmotivated and overpaid players. The Red Sox won just three pennants (1946. 1967 and 1975) in the more than 40 years that Yawkey owned the club.One Boston sportswriter said three "isms" kept the Red Sox from winning. They were cronyism, alcoholism and racism. Yawkey tended to hire people because he liked them, they were his drinking buddies and the club was the last team to have a black player on its roster, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.Pinky Higgins, who served in various roles with the Red Sox, including manager and general manager, symbolized all three of the club's weaknesses. He was one of Yawkey's pals, he was an alcoholic and a racist.One sportswriter said the Red Sox were satisfied with a group of chronic underachievers and that Yawkey's cronies ran the team protecting the status quo, demanding little from the team, virtually guaranteeing mediocrity.Although there's no hard evidence that Yawkey was a racist, the fact that the club was the last to have a black player seems to provide all the evidence needed. Jackie Robinson certainly thought Yawkey was a racist and he spoke out about it. The Red Sox had passed on Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson.In addition to Tom Yawkey, Nowlin writes about his wife Jean, who also was quiet and unassuming. She owned the team until 2002.All Red Sox fans should have this book on their list, but I think all baseball fans would enjoy it.

I have been a lifelong fan of baseball and of the Yankees, but I must say Tom Yawkey:Patriarch of the Boston Red Sox is one of the best baseball books I have read in a very long time. Mr Nowlin paints a picture of Yawkey not as a racist or as a rich man who uses a baseball team as a toy. Yawkey is made to seem like everybody's favorite uncle and a man who loved baseball. It was almost as if he was just a lucky fan who happened to own a ball club. The book is well written and researched and has definitely changed my opinion on my thoughts of Mr Yawkey. Like I said after reading this book I wish that just one time Boston would have been fortunate to win a World Series title for Yawkey as there has been no other team owner more deserving of the honor. Many thanks to you Mr. Nowlin for this book it will go on the treasured shelf of my book collection as it should for every fan of the game Red Sox or not. Again many thanks for the pleasure of reading this book and I look forward to your next book

This was a gift to a friend who seen them all play for the Sox.he loved it.

This is a great book for any MLB fan or Boston Red Sox fan! Very detailed. Mr Nowlin did his research Great Book. Found a lot about Mr Yawkey as a person!