JRY Trust

The JRY Trust (originally JRY Corporation) was an American trust that owned the Boston Red Sox franchise within Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 through 2001. JRY were the initials of Jean R. Yawkey, who had ownership of the team, in part or in whole, from the July 1976 death of her husband, Tom Yawkey, until her own death in February 1992.

Following the death of Mr. Yawkey, the team was legally owned by his estate, and Mrs. Yawkey succeeded him as team president.[1] A purchase of the team from the estate was approved by the American League in May 1978, resulting in each of Mrs. Yawkey, Haywood Sullivan, and Buddy LeRoux having a one-third controlling interest in the team as general partners.[2] JRY Corporation was created to hold legal ownership of the team.[3] Following a failed attempt by LeRoux to take control of the team during the 1986 season, LeRoux sold his interest to Mrs. Yawkey in March 1987.[4][5] Upon Mrs. Yawkey's death in February 1992, her holdings passed into the trust.[6] Sullivan retained his interest until being bought out by the trust in November 1993.[4]

The trust was headed by John Harrington, who also served as president of the Red Sox from 1987 to 2001.[1] In December 2001, the trust sold the Red Sox to John W. Henry and his group of investors, New England Sports Ventures (later known as Fenway Sports Group), with the sale becoming official in February 2002.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Club Executives" (PDF). Boston Red Sox Media Guide. Boston Red Sox. 2020. pp. 23–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ Gammons, Peter (May 24, 1978). "Sox owners eye 6000 new seats". The Boston Globe. p. 47. Retrieved October 25, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Harvey, Joesph (June 6, 1978). "Contradiction in Sox sale?". The Boston Globe. p. 30. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Red Sox to have one owner". San Francisco Examiner. AP. November 24, 1993. p. D-5. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "LeRoux sells his share of Red Sox". The Boston Globe. March 31, 1987. p. 1. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Golden, Ed (March 22, 1992). "Jean Yawkey's will won't mean changes for Sox' organization". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. p. C5. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Chass, Murray (2002-01-17). "BASEBALL; Owners Give Approval To Sale of the Red Sox". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-15.