page_title: Tom Yawkey
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Tom Yawkey / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Entrée principale du Fenway Park sur Yawkey Way, Boston, Massachusetts, USAEnglish: Fenway Park main entrance on Yawkey Way, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
context_page_description: Thomas Austin Yawkey, born Thomas Yawkey Austin, 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, longer than anyone else in baseball history. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. In 2018, the Red Sox publicly distanced themselves from Yawkey, due to allegations of racism and resistance to baseball's integration.
context_section_description: Yawkey was a popular figure in Boston and a respected voice in major league councils, as evidenced by his fellow American League owners naming him vice president between 1956 and 1973, though fellow owners regarded him as a "strange fish" in the words of one contemporary sports writer for Yawkey's willingness to spend lavishly on salaries and perks for star players at the expense of profits.
  Yawkey died from leukemia in Boston on July 9, 1976. His wife, Jean R. Yawkey, became president of the club following his death. The Yawkey Foundation was established in 1976 through a bequest in his will. The foundation later recorded $420 million in 2002 income after the sale of the Red Sox. Alongside a second foundation formed in 1982 by Jean Yawkey, the Yawkey Foundations donated $30 million in 2007 for the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute to build the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care in Boston.
  In 1977, the section of Jersey Street where Fenway Park is located was renamed Yawkey Way in his honor. However, in August 2017, Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry announced the team was seeking to change the name, adding he was "haunted" by Yawkey's legacy, which some have characterized as racist. The change was approved by the City of Boston in April 2018, and the name reverted to Jersey Street in May 2018. A plaque honoring Yawkey, from "his Red Sox employees," that had hung at the administrative office entrance to Fenway Park since shortly after his death was removed in May 2018. An MBTA Commuter Rail station near the park, Yawkey station, was renamed Lansdowne station in April 2019.  
  A chain of islands off the coast of Georgetown, South Carolina, near the entrance of Winyah Bay, make up the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve. The nature preserve was formed from 24,000 acres (9,700 ha) of land along a tidal estuary, which Yawkey willed to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. He originally purchased the land for use as a hunting and fishing retreat, and often allowed access to Red Sox players, including Ted Williams. It consists of North Island, South Island, Sand Island  and a majority of Cat Island.
  Yawkey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.
caption: Fenway Park main entrance on the then Yawkey Way in 2007
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