Boston’s Yawkey Way may be renamed

The Boston Red Sox will ask the city to rename Yawkey Way, the street alongside Fenway Park, to erase what owner John Henry called a haunting reminder of the ballclub’s history of racial intolerance.

Henry told the Boston Herald that he welcomes changing the name of the street that honors his predecessor Tom Yawkey, an inductee in the baseball Hall of Fame, and is the mailing address for the ballpark and team offices.

Under Yawkey, who owned the club for four decades, the Red Sox were the last team in the major leagues to cross the color barrier while choosing not to sign black players including Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays.

Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said a change would require a discussion among the property owners along Yawkey Way. In addition to the Red Sox, that would mean the owner of a large souvenir stand across the street from Fenway Park, as well as a hamburger restaurant on the corner, he said. The owners of the souvenir shop told the Herald they would not be opposed to a name change.

Yawkey owned the club until his death in 1976, when his wife, Jean, took control. She died and left the ballclub in the care of a foundation that bore their name; trustee John Harrington ran the team until it was sold to Henry and his partners in 2002.

Henry told the paper he would like to see the street renamed for David Ortiz; the city has already named an extension of the road after the former Red Sox slugger, who retired last year.

The three major professional sports teams based in Florida’s Tampa Bay area say they have “dedicated funds” to help remove a Confederate monument from the city.

The NFL’s Buccaneers, the NHL’s