YAWKEY, TOM

born Feb. 21, 1903, Detroit, Mich., U.S. died July 9, 1976, Boston, Mass. byname of Thomas Austin Yawkey, original name Thomas Austin American professional baseball executive, sportsman, and owner of the American League Boston Red Sox (193376), who was the last of the patriarchal owners. Austin was taken into the home of his maternal uncle William Yawkey and received a B.S. degree (in mining engineering and chemistry) from Yale University in 1925. After his mother's death he took his uncle's name and at the age of 16 became heir to his uncle's fortune. Yawkey had a lifelong passion for baseball, and he bought the Red Sox in 1933. He signed such stars as Jimmy Foxx, Lefty Grove, Joe Cronin, Ted Williams, and Carl Yastrzemski. The Red Sox won the American League pennant three times but lost the World Series to the National League St. Louis Cardinals (1946, 1967) and to the Cincinnati Reds (1975). Yawkey was also an avid fisherman and hunter. His 40,000-acre (16,000-hectare) wildlife preserve at South Island, S.C., provided feeding and stopover sites for migrating birds and habitat for other wildlife. He willed 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) of it to the state of South Carolina with a trust fund of $10,000,000 for its maintenance.