Red Sox Owner Jean Yawkey Dies

Jean R. Yawkey, a one-time fashion model who took control of the Boston Red Sox after the death of her husband in 1976, died Wednesday at 83.

Yawkey died at Massachusetts General Hospital. She suffered a stroke Feb. 20.

She entered the baseball world when she married Tom Yawkey in 1944, 11 years after he purchased the team. She headed the club the past 16 years.

Yawkey was easy to spot during Red Sox games at Fenway Park. She watched games through binoculars from her rooftop box.

Although there have been reports that the club would be sold to the highest bidder when she died, Haywood Sullivan, the team’s general partner, may have the first option.