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Red Sox owner wants to rename Yawkey Way due to racist legacy

REUTERS/Mike Segar PM

In the wake of last weekend's events in Charlottesville and controversy over the removal of Confederate statues, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has decided to take a stand with regard to his own team's sordid past.

Henry believes it's time to change the name of Yawkey Way - a public street behind Fenway Park named for longtime Red Sox owner and Hall of Famer Tom Yawkey - due to Yawkey's well-known racism. Henry said he's "haunted" by Yawkey's views, and expects the Red Sox to lead the push to rename the street.

"We ought to be able to lead the effort and if others in the community favor a change, we would welcome it - particularly in light of the country's current leadership stance with regard to intolerance," Henry told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.

Henry added that he does not wish for the team to use this as a way to run from its history and hide its mistakes; rather, he believes it's simply the right time.

Renaming the street is not something that the Red Sox control in any way, according to Silverman. In order to change the name, all those who own property with an address on the street would have to petition the city of Boston together. That would include the Red Sox (Fenway Park's address is 4 Yawkey Way) and the owners of several shops across from the park.

Tom Yawkey bought the Red Sox in 1933 and owned the club until his death in 1976, when the "Yawkey Trust," led in part by his widow Jean, took control. Henry bought the Red Sox from the Yawkey trust before the 2002 season.

Under Tom Yawkey's leadership, the Red Sox renovated Fenway and the iconic Green Monster was erected in left field. But his legacy as an owner has always been tinged by racism. The Red Sox were the last team to integrate their roster, only doing so in 1959 - some 12 years after Jackie Robinson had played his first game.

Robinson was one of three African-American players Yawkey and the Red Sox brought in for a tryout in April 1945, though it was quickly perceived as a sham rather than a genuine opportunity. According to an article on the tryout by Slate's Seth Maxon, someone shouted a racial slur at the three men from Fenway's stands.

"We knew we were wasting our time," Robinson told the Boston Globe in 1972.

Pumpsie Green, who went on to play five years in the majors with the Red Sox and Mets, became the first African-American Red Sox player when he entered as a pinch runner on July 21, 1959.

Fenway Park has not been immune to racism more recently. On May 1, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones alleges that Red Sox fans taunted him with racial slurs and threw a bag of peanuts at him during that night's game.

The following evening, Red Sox fans gave Jones a standing ovation prior to his first at-bat.

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