A sad tidbit on Sox racism in the past in this Globe article on scout George Digby:
“Eddie Glennon, the GM of our club in Birmingham, called Cronin,” recalled Digby. “The owner of the Black Barons had told us we could have Mays for $4,500. I said, ‘I’ll be back to you by tomorrow.’ Glennon had asked me, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘I think he’s a big leaguer.’ We could have had Mays in center and [Ted] Williams in left.
“Cronin sent another scout down to look at him, but [owner Tom] Yawkey and Cronin already had made up their minds they weren’t going to take any black players.” (Link)
Mays and Williams in the outfield (together with Dom DiMaggio)? Somehow I think the whole “86 years between World Series” thing wouldn’t even have been an issue had that come to pass - and that’s not even taking into account the fact that Jackie Robinson also tried out for the Sox… Shows the effects of institutional racism.
As noted on some discussions, the Celtics and the Bruins were the first teams to integrate in their respective leagues, and the then-Boston Braves were one of the first, so the Sox’s shameful failure to integrate wasn’t anything to do with Boston as a city, but of the Sox ownership and leadership at that time. I’m no Dan Duquette fan, but part of his legacy was that he made Dominicans like Pedro and Manny superstars in a team that only integrated in 1959.
Tangential article: the late Ralph Wiley on the decline of baseball participation among African-Americans.
Edit: Glenn Stout has contacted me to note that the Massachusetts Historical Review, just published by the Mass Historical Society, includes an 8,000 word story called “Tryout and Fallout: Race, Jackie Robinson and the Red Sox.” Sounds damned interesting - will try to get my hands on a copy…