Eddie Sawyer - A Scholar-athlete

A Scholar-athlete

Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, Sawyer – an outfielder who batted and threw right-handed – never played in the Majors. A rarity among baseball people of his era, Sawyer held an advanced degree from an Ivy League university: a master's degree from Cornell. He had earned an undergraduate degree from Ithaca College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and later served as a science teacher.

Sawyer signed a contract to play in the New York Yankees' deep farm system in 1934. He reached the highest minor-league level in 1937 with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, but soon turned to managing in the Bombers' system. In 1939, his first year as a player-manager with the Amsterdam Rugmakers in the Class C Canadian-American League, Sawyer led the Rugmakers to a first-place finish and batted .369 with 103 runs batted in.