Tom Greenwade
| Tom Greenwade | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
August 21, 1904 Willard, Missouri |
| Died | August 10, 1986 (aged 81) Ash Grove, Missouri |
| Occupation | Baseball scout |
| Years active | 1941–1964 |
| Known for | Scouting Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson |
Thomas E. Greenwade (August 21, 1904 – August 10, 1986) was an American baseball scout. After a brief minor league career as a pitcher and manager, Greenwade scouted for the St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1941 and 1964. He is best known for discovering players such as Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard, and for his role in Jackie Robinson's ascent to break baseball's color barrier.
Greenwade was born in Willard, Missouri. He was one-quarter Cherokee. His father ran a lumber mill in Willard. Greenwade's mother died when he was ten years old. The family was poor, instilling a frugality in Greenwade that influenced the rest of his life. Greenwade had a strong arm as a child. He could kill rabbits by throwing rocks at them; locals subsequently purchased the rabbits from him for a quarter apiece.
As a young man, Greenwade was a pitcher and manager in minor league baseball. While pitching in the minor leagues, he contracted typhoid fever and he nearly died. While he recovered, he was away from baseball for a couple of seasons, working for the Internal Revenue Service at one point. By 1940, he had returned to the minor leagues as a manager. In 1941, he joined the St. Louis Browns as a scout.
Later, Greenwade scouted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the mid-1940s, as the Dodgers looked to break baseball's color line, Greenwade was sent to Mexico City to scout a black Cuban player named Silvio García. When Greenwade went to meet with Mexican League president Jorge Pasquel about the possibility of recruiting García to the United States, the Mexican League official and his brother began the talks by brandishing firearms. In any case, Greenwade found that García had difficulty pulling pitches toward the left side of the field, so he did not recommend that the team pursue García any further.
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