William Hoover Yawkey was the sole owner of the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 of the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 from through , and part-owner with Frank Navin

Frank Navin

Francis Joseph Navin was the principal owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1909 to 1935. He also served as vice president and acting president of the American League....

 from 1908 to .

Yawkey was the son of lumber tycoon William Clyman Yawkey, the richest man in Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The elder Yawkey agreed to buy the Tigers from Samuel F. Angus

Samuel F. Angus

Samuel F. Angus was the principal owner of the Detroit Tigers of the American League from through . In 1902, Angus purchased the franchise from James D. Burns to become owner. In 1903, Angus sold the Tigers to Bill Yawkey.-References:*...

 in , but died before the deal closed. Navin, then the Tigers' bookkeeper and vice president, persuaded the younger Yawkey to complete the deal.

Yawkey took little interest in the Tigers, leaving day-to-day control in Navin's hands. In 1908, Yawkey sold almost half of the club's stock to Navin, making him for all intents and purposes a full partner.

Yawkey died in 1919 from the Spanish flu

Spanish flu

The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...

. Upon his death, he left his $40 million estate to his nephew and adoptive son, Tom Yawkey

Tom Yawkey

Thomas Austin Yawkey, born Thomas Austin , was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933, and was the sole owner of the team for 44 seasons, longer than anyone else in baseball history.-Early...

, who later bought the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

.