Ed Barrow

Edward Grant Barrow was born on May 10, 1868, in Springfield, Illinois, the oldest of four children, all male, born to Effie Ann Vinson-Heller and John Barrow. Following the war, Barrow's parents, with John's mother, brothers, and sisters, traveled in a covered wagon to Nebraska; Barrow was born on a hemp plantation belonging to relatives during the trip. Barrow worked as mailing clerk for the Des Moines News in 1887, receiving a promotion to circulation manager within a year. Barrow moved to Pittsburgh in 1889, where he worked as a soap salesman, believing there was money in this business. However, Barrow lost all of money in this business, and went to work as a desk clerk in a Pittsburgh hotel. ==Baseball career==

Early career Barrow partnered with Harry Stevens in 1894 to sell concessions at baseball games. He helped George Moreland form the Interstate League, a Class-C minor league, in 1894. Barrow sold Wagner to the Louisville Colonels of the National League (NL) for $2,100 the next year ($ in current dollar terms). He also hired Lizzie Arlington, the first woman in professional baseball, to pitch a few innings a game. During this time, in the winter of 1898–99, Barrow and Jake Wells established a movie theater in Richmond, Virginia. Barrow managed Paterson again in 1899, but the league folded after the season. With the money earned from the sale of the Richmond movie theater, Barrow purchased a one-quarter share of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Class-A Eastern League in 1900 from Arthur Irwin, and served as the team's manager. Irwin, hired to be the manager of the Washington Senators of the NL, brought his most talented players with him. Rebuilding the Maple Leafs, Barrow acquired talented players, such as Nick Altrock, and the team improved from a fifth-place finish in 1899, to a third-place finish in 1900, and a second-place finish in 1901. The Maple Leafs won the league championship in 1902, even though they lost many of their most talented players, including Altrock, to the upstart American League (AL). ==Managerial career==

Barrow managed in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers of the AL in 1903, finishing fifth, a 13-game improvement from their 1902 finish. He served in this role from 1911 through 1917, and engineered the name change to "International League" before the 1912 season. Several International League owners opposed Barrow's policies, including his attempt to form the Union League, and felt he was too close personally to Ban Johnson. Boston Red Sox (1918–1920) Barrow became manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1918. As the team lost many of its better players during World War I, Barrow encouraged owner Harry Frazee to purchase Stuffy McInnis, Wally Schang, Bullet Joe Bush, and Amos Strunk from the Philadelphia Athletics for $75,000 ($ in current dollar terms). The Red Sox won the 1918 World Series. Recognizing that star pitcher Babe Ruth was also a great power hitter, Barrow had Ruth pinch hit on days when he wasn't scheduled to pitch. After the 1918 season, Frazee, now in debt, began selling the contracts of star players. He traded Dutch Leonard, Duffy Lewis, and Ernie Shore to the New York Yankees, obtaining Ray Caldwell, Slim Love, Frank Gilhooley, Roxy Walters, and cash. Frazee sold Carl Mays to the Yankees during the 1919 season. The Red Sox struggled in 1919, finishing sixth in the AL. Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees after the season, against Barrow's warnings. To date, Barrow is the only manager to win a World Series without previously playing in organized baseball, whether in the minors or majors. ==Executive career==

New York Yankees (1920–1945) After the 1920 season, Barrow resigned from the Red Sox to become the business manager of the Yankees, replacing the deceased Harry Sparrow. He took control of building the roster, which was usually the field manager's responsibility in those days. With the Yankees, Barrow handled the signing of player contracts, although owner Jacob Ruppert personally handled the contracts of Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Barrow supported Huggins. He also discovered executive George Weiss, whom he mentored. However, this is belied by the fact that Barrow almost certainly knew who was coming to New York in these deals; he'd managed nearly all of them in Boston. The Yankees sought to develop their own players, rather than buying them from other teams, especially after the investment of $100,000 ($ in current dollar terms) in Lyn Lary and Jimmie Reese in 1927. However, Weiss and Bill Essick convinced Barrow to approve the purchase of Joe DiMaggio from the Pacific Coast League. When Huggins died in 1929, Barrow chose Bob Shawkey to replace him as manager, passing over Ruth, who wanted the opportunity to become a player-manager. After Ruppert's death in 1939, his will left the Yankees and other assets in a trust for his descendants. The will also named Barrow president of the Yankees, with full authority over the team's day-to-day operations. Barrow was named Executive of the Year by The Sporting News in 1941, the second time he won the award. The estate sold the team to a group of Larry MacPhail, Dan Topping, and Del Webb in 1945, and Barrow sold his 10% stake in the team to the group. Barrow remained as chairman of the board and an informal adviser. AL president Will Harridge offered Barrow the job of Commissioner of Baseball to succeed Kenesaw Mountain Landis; Barrow declined, as he felt he was too old and his health was in decline. ==Managerial record==

Barrow was known as "Uncle Egbert" to his friends; Barrow was hospitalized on July 7, 1953, at the United Hospital of Port Chester, New York and died on December 15, at the age of 85, due to a malignancy. His body was kept at Campbell's Funeral Home and interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York. ==Legacy==

Barrow was the first executive to put numbers on player uniforms. Barrow was also the first executive to allow fans to keep foul balls that entered the stands. Barrow was also the first to require the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner", the United States' national anthem, before every game, not only on holidays. In May 1950, an exhibition game was played in honor of Barrow, with Barrow managing a team of retired stars. Barrow was named on the Honor Rolls of Baseball in 1946 and elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1953. On April 15, 1954, the Yankees dedicated a plaque to Barrow; the plaque first hung on the center field wall at Yankee Stadium, near the flagpole and the monuments to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins. The plaques were later moved to the stadium's Monument Park. ==References==