Tom Hayes (baseball)

Thomas Henry Hayes Jr. (November 20, 1902 - July 20, 1982) was an American Negro league baseball executive who served as owner and president of the Birmingham Black Barons from 1939 to 1952. He is perhaps best known for selling a then-19-year-old Willie Mays to the New York Giants.

Tom Hayes
Born(1902-11-20)November 20, 1902
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJuly 20, 1982(1982-07-20) (aged 79)[1]
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
SpouseHelen Meadow

Early life

Hayes was born on November 20, 1902, in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Thomas and Florence Hayes.[2] Thomas Sr. worked as an undertaker and his T.H. Hayes & Sons Funeral Home would become the oldest Black-owned business in Memphis.[2]

After attending Atlanta University, Lincoln University and the University of Illinois, Hayes returned to Memphis to help run the family funeral home by the mid-1920s. In 1929, he married Helen Meadow.[3] Hayes was involved in multiple other business ventures in Memphis, including insurance, hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.[2] In 1933, Hayes co-founded the Union Protective Life Insurance Company, serving as vice-president until it was sold to Universal Life Insurance Co. in 1980.[4]

Baseball career

Hayes purchased the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in December 1939 after the previous owners failed to field a club that year.[5][6] He also served as vice president of the Negro American League.[7]

While owner of the Black Barons, he began a partnership with Abe Saperstein, who oversaw the clubs promotions and venue booking while Hayes retained ownership and handled player signings and negotiations.[7][8] During his ownership, the Black Barons won Negro American League pennants in 1943, 1944 and 1948.[9]

In early 1949, Hayes sold Willie Mays, at the time 19-years-old, to the New York Giants for $10,000.[10] Hayes reportedly gave Mays a $6,000 cut of the sale.[7] Hayes had originally signed Mays the previous year from the Birmingham Industrial League.[2]

By January 1952, the Black Barons had fallen into financial difficulty,[11] with Hayes ultimately selling the club to Baltimore Elite Giants owner William Sousa Bridgeforth in February 1952.[12]

References
  1. "T. H. Hayes Is Dead; Funeral Home Owner". The Commercial Appeal. July 21, 1982. p. 19. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Forr, James. "Tom Hayes". SABR Bioproject. SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  3. "Helen M. Hayes dies; taught in Memphis". The Commercial Appeal. January 18, 1990. p. 61. Retrieved January 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Memphis Memories". The Commercial Appeal. September 12, 2003. p. 17. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Black Barons To Run Next Season Under New Setup". The Birmingham News. December 17, 1939. p. 28. Retrieved January 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Black Barons, Under New Ownership, Will Train in Mississippi". The Birmingham News. March 21, 1940. p. 26. Retrieved January 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
  8. King, Norm. "Abe Saperstein". SABR Bioproject. SABR (Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  9. "Birmingham Black Barons team history". Seamheads.com. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  10. Smith, Wendell (1 February 1964). "Willie Can Do More Things Beter Than Any Other Player in the Game of Baseball". Pittsburgh Courier. p. 15. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  11. Jackson, Marion E. (18 January 1952). "Tom Hayes, Black Barons' Owner Sees Dim Future For Negro Loop". Alabama Tribune. p. 6. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  12. "Negro American Loop Starts Season May 11". The Commercial Appeal. February 12, 1952. p. 17. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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