Excellent Interview

Royal Rooters of Red Sox Nation has an excellent interview of baseball historian Glenn Stout - well worth your time.

RSN: Is there anything you want to add regarding Robinson or Mays?

GS: In the waning days of the 1967 season Jackie Robinson was asked which American League team he wanted to win the pennant. Even though Dick Williams had been his teammate, he said anybody but the Red Sox, because “Tom Yawkey is one of the most bigoted men in baseball.” Robinson didn’t throw charges like that around lightly.

And Tom Yawkey is in the Hall of Fame. For what? He didn’t win and he was behind the curve on every issue baseball faced during the time he owned the team. Well, once I asked someone who worked at the Hall that very question. And they said it was because he contributed a lot of money, and that’s a fact. For him to be the first man inducted solely for being a team owner is repugnant.