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Problems are the price you pay for progress. -Branch Rickey- Every strike
brings me closer to to the next home run. -Babe Ruth- You can't think and
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-Bill Veeck- Content Slideshow
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I will never forget when I
heard that
Mickey Mantle and
Bobby Murcer where signed by the same Scout,
Tom Greenwade. What I didn't
realize is how many good players he signed and what an impact he had as
a Professional Baseball Scout. It wasn't just because he signed
Mickey Mantle , it is all about the players he signed or was
responsible for, and it is truly amazing, especially all the players he
signed from Oklahoma.
Tom started with the
St. Louis Browns but was later hired by the
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944 and two years later he went to the Yankees.
The impact he made through his signing's impacted Professional Baseball
greatly.
After joining the
Brooklyn
Dodgers in 1944 Tom signed
George Kell,
Rex Barney,
Roy Jarvis,
Cal McLish,
Bobby Morgan,
Tommy Warren, and was very
instrumental in helping the Brooklyn Dodgers sign
Jackie
Robinson.
Tom accepted an offer from the
New York Yankees in December 1945. Before making the move he
spoke with
Branch Rickey. It is reported
that the Yankees made him the highest paid scout in baseball. His
annual salary went from $3,600 to more
than $11,000, plus bonuses annually.
Starting in 1946 with the Yankees he signed
Hank Bauer,
Bob Keegan,
John Gabler,
Whitey Herzog,
Mickey Mantle,
Luis Marquez,
Bob Thurman,
Frank Barnes,
Elston Howard,
Tom Sturdivant,
Bill Virdon,
Jerry Lumpe,
Fritz Brickell,
Rod Kanehl,
Ralph Terry,
Phil Mudrock,
Jay Ward,
Don Lock,
Hal Stowe,
Bobby Murcer,
Loyd Colson,
Gerry Pirtle,
Vic Power, and
Jerry Snyder.
There is always the story behind the story. Tom grew up in Missouri and
scouted in the mid west. As a scout he signed so many players from
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. He signed probably two of the
three best players ever to come out of Oklahoma,
Mickey Mantle and
Bobby Murcer. I am sure he would have loved to have
Johnny
Bench too, but during that time
there was a
draft.
Tom Greenwade also signed three players that became Managers,
Bill Virdon,
Hank Bauer, and
Whitey Herzog. All three of these players, after becoming
Managers, won
Manger of the Year Awards.
Hank Bauer and
Whitey Herzog went on to win the World Series as a Managers.
Their combined record as Managers were 2,870 wins versus 2,590
losses.
Tom Greenwade is a Hall of
Fame Scout. Tom was a trailblazer for what scouting was going to
become. He searched the heartland for players and sometimes extended
the search to other states.
Tom Greenwade's legacy lives on
with the players he signed and his contributions in baseball that were
so many!
written
by:
Robbie Henderson
Thank you for reading this article on
Tom
Greenwade!
"Remember it is always about the story behind the
story"
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