Red Sox want Yawkey Way renamed

[Fenway]

The Red Sox racial history is well documented and most feel it started with the owner.

John Henry says Red Sox will lead effort to change name of Yawkey Way

This is a sensitive issue so please think twice before submitting a reply.

It is compounded that in death the Yawkey name as brought much good to Boston.

http://yawkeyfoundation.org/index.html

Click to read more...

 

[hockeykicker]

Can they change the name of a road?

 

[Fenway]

Can they change the name of a road?

Only the city of Boston can change it but the Red Sox obviously have clout.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I'm sure there's *nothing* Boston and the Red Sox have to be grateful to Mr. Yawkey for...

I personally don't think a street should be named after a sports figure anyway, seems very trivial and makes me cringe, but if they name the street "David Ortiz Way" they better hope he's never caught doing PEDs.

If you name a street after a real human, you may soon find out that there's no angels walking among us.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

Change it to Bill Buckner Way.

 

[robert terwilliger]

guys be really careful. that slope outside, it just keeps getting more and more slippery.

 

[Fenway]

Yawkey was convinced that one of the reason the Braves attendance collapsed in the early 50's was that the National League had integrated and Boston at that time was a very racist city. There is no question that many white fans did stop following the Braves. Vin Scully remembered that everywhere Brooklyn went there was excitement except Braves Field which he said was a tomb. Yawkey did employ some executives and managers who were indeed racist - Pinky Higgins and Joe Cronin.

The Red Sox even moved spring training to Scottsdale Arizona in 1959 and that city did not allow blacks in the city after dark which meant players like Pumpsie and Earl Wilson had to say in a colored hotel.

Mrs. Yawkey was not tolerant, Haywood Sullivan was behind Sox players being invited to the Winter Haven Elks - except the black players. John Harrington grew up in Irish Mission Hill and he was set in his ways.

Everyone knows that the Red Sox were the last to integrate but not many know who was second to last - the New York Yankees.

 

[robert terwilliger]

i am extremely uncomfortable policing the past and acting like i'm better than someone who lived in a different era.

 

[hockeykicker]

But here's the question. Why now? Don't tell me all the other political stuff made you decide oh this guy was bad after all

 

[Del Preston]

"Yankee Way" sounds good and it's close to the original. I think the locals would really like it.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

But here's the question. Why now? Don't tell me all the other political stuff made you decide oh this guy was bad after all

Pretty obvious, it's the opportunity. From what I gather Henry has never been a fan, but now it's a hot button issue and it's probably the best opportunity he'd have to push for a change.

 

[Drake1588]

I'm sure there's *nothing* Boston and the Red Sox have to be grateful to Mr. Yawkey for...

I personally don't think a street should be named after a sports figure anyway, seems very trivial and makes me cringe, but if they name the street "David Ortiz Way" they better hope he's never caught doing PEDs.

If you name a street after a real human, you may soon find out that there's no angels walking among us.

If you do, you can just change the name again. It's easy. Name something after someone, have a change of heart as social mores evolve, and change it. It's really not so difficult. If that new name ends up having connotations that grow increasingly fraught, you can keep changing it to suit the times.

It's not exactly baseball, which is very reluctant to embrace change, but it's not sacrilege. Change is natural. What was once unobjectionable can grow untenable over time as the line moves.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

I thought they renamed it David Ortiz Road or something like that

 

[Fenway]

Media reaction



http://www.nbcboston.com/news/local...-Change-the-Name-of-Yawkey-Way-440934673.html



http://whdh.com/news/red-sox-owner-john-henry-leading-effort-to-change-name-of-yawkey-way/

John Henry oddly gave the scoop to the Boston Herald instead of the Boston Globe that he owns.

Was Tom Yawkey a racist? Probably but baseball owners as a rule were in that era. In 1961 the Washington Senators owner Calvin Griffith moved the team to Minnesota because he said the demographics were better.

Today you see the Yawkey name around town more than Kennedy

https://www.google.com/search?q=Yaw...1.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.1.194.qn4vwRKzXKM

 

[BigMac1212]

I don't see a need to change it. It's part of Boston culture. Keep it as it is.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

I don't see a reason to change it, but I really don't care either way. Seems to me that Henry is just trying to capitalize on everything else going on and gather some goodwill.


I'm basically going to piggy back on what RT said;

We can't just be going around changing everything because someone was racist back in an era when almost everyone was racist.

People these days seem to forgot that times used to be a lot different and at one point things that would be considered abhorrent now were once the norm and people didn't know any better.

 

[John Price]

Rename it Sweet Caroline Ave or something trendy

"Champions Boulevard"

"City of Champions Avenue"

 

[ArGarBarGar]

I don't see a reason to change it, but I really don't care either way. Seems to me that Henry is just trying to capitalize on everything else going on and gather some goodwill.


I'm basically going to piggy back on what RT said;

We can't just be going around changing everything because someone was racist back in an era when almost everyone was racist.

People these days seem to forgot that times used to be a lot different and at one point things that would be considered abhorrent now were once the norm and people didn't know any better.

I mean, we could always set our sights on memorializing and idolizing those with a higher set of morals, regardless of what things may have been like "back in the day."

 

[Lieutenant Bookman]

Pretty obvious, it's the opportunity. From what I gather Henry has never been a fan, but now it's a hot button issue and it's probably the best opportunity he'd have to push for a change.

Exactly this. It's no secret that despite the rich history of the Red Sox, one way history does not look favorably upon them is with respect to race relations. Even this year there was the Adam Jones thing, and even though that was a fan(s) it still creates a negative association with the organization. Given all that is going on politically in the U.S. and the attention racial issues are getting, they probably see this as the perfect time to do a little image rehab and try and reverse some of the negative perceptions of the organization and its racist past

 

[Terry Yake]

why don't they rename it "ted williams way" or something after him?

 

[Fenway]

why don't they rename it "ted williams way" or something after him?

John Henry bought the team they year Ted Williams died (2002) and the night of the memorial service he announced the 600 Club would be renamed the 406 Club in honor of Ted but 3 years later the club was demolished to put in new roof seating.

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2005/03/21/daily36.html

John Henry is trying to sell Red Sox fans on David Ortiz being the greatest player in Boston history and the reality is a fan that remembers Williams as a player is pushing 70 and above. Henry went on record yesterday that he wants to rename it for Ortiz.

Henry's ego is at play here as he wants to remind fans that under his ownership the Red Sox have won 3 World Series which is 3 more than the Yawkey era from 1933-2001.

The Yawkey Foundation using the proceeds from the sale of the team have plastered the Yawkey name all over Boston.

The Yawkey name is seen more than the Kennedy name in this town today.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

I don't see a reason to change it, but I really don't care either way. Seems to me that Henry is just trying to capitalize on everything else going on and gather some goodwill.


I'm basically going to piggy back on what RT said;

We can't just be going around changing everything because someone was racist back in an era when almost everyone was racist.

People these days seem to forgot that times used to be a lot different and at one point things that would be considered abhorrent now were once the norm and people didn't know any better.

Part of that, though, is Yawkey seems like he was quite racist even for his time. Not sure you can say it's a different era when he stood out that much.

 

[hockeykicker]

Here's another serious question. Without googling it, how many people even knew he was a racist? I mean Red Sox fans have been going to Fenway park forever basically and I'm wondering if most of them even knew the history or even cared or even care about changing the street name

 

[Terry Yake]

Here's another serious question. Without googling it, how many people even knew he was a racist? I mean Red Sox fans have been going to Fenway park forever basically and I'm wondering if most of them even knew the history or even cared or even care about changing the street name

i thought it was pretty well known that the red sox were the last team to field a black player. 12 years after jackie robinson

that was all yawkey's doing

 

[CTHabsfan]

i am extremely uncomfortable policing the past and acting like i'm better than someone who lived in a different era.

Exactly! I'm sure John Henry has no problem with openly gay fans coming to Fenway in 2017. Do you think the same would be true if he owned the team back in 1957?