Yawkey Way got its name in '77 as a way to honor former Red Sox Owner Tom YawkeyGETTY IMAGES
The Red Sox have "submitted a petition to the Boston Public Improvement Commission requesting that Yawkey Way become Jersey Street, by which it was originally known," according to Michael Silverman of the BOSTON HERALD. The Red Sox said that they have the "approval and cooperation of all Yawkey Way abutters." Last August, Red Sox Owner John Henry said that he was still "'haunted' by the racist legacy of the team's prior owner, Tom Yawkey, and that he wanted the team to take the lead in the process of renaming the Jersey Street extension outside Fenway Park that was renamed to honor the former owner" in '77. The Yawkey Foundation said it was "deeply disappointed" by the move to scrub Yawkey's name from the street and called it "an action based on a false narrative about Tom Yawkey." The Red Sox said that the name change is "not intended as an affront to the Yawkey Foundation" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/1). In Boston, Adrian Walker notes momentum for renaming Yawkey Way has been "quietly building for several years." Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has previously stated that he would "not block efforts to rename Yawkey Way." But he has "never expressed any great enthusiasm for the idea." The Red Sox filing "may force him to finally declare himself for it or against it" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/1).
