Sport: Baseball
Born: October 11, 1906
Died: February 21, 1970
Town: Hoboken, New Jersey
Thomas Francis Aloysius Carey was born in Hoboken, NJ on October 11, 1906, the youngest of seven children born to Irish immigrants. Tom played basketball and baseball in school and then went to work in a Hoboken manufacturing company as a teenager. Quick, coordinated and congenitally upbeat, he eventually packed 170 pounds onto his 5’8” frame and continued to play baseball for local semipro teams.
Tom was signed to a minor-league contract by the Yankees at the age of 23 and played well for the Class-D Chambersburg Young Yanks in 1930. In 1931, Tom was promoted to Houston, where his teammates included the Dean brothers and fellow New Jerseyan Joe Medwick.
Tom’s bat was inconsistent but his glovework at shortstop was beyond reproach. Nicknamed “Scoops,” he spent three seasons with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League before his contract was purchased by the St. Louis Browns in 1935. He earned the appreciation of big-league fans for his quick hands around second base and constant hustle, but it took him a season to accustom himself to the new position. He was replacing player-manager Rogers Hornsby—so no pressure there.
Tom had two excellent seasons for the Browns, in 1936 and 1937. However, Hornsby’s replacement in the dugout, Gabby Street, shipped Tom to the minors in 1938. The Red Sox acquired Tom after the season and he served as Bobby Doerr’s backup. Despite seeing almost no playing time, he was one of the most popular players in the clubhouse and, as he entered his mid-30s, the feeling was that he would make a great coach or manager.
Tom’s last gasp for regular playing time came when Johnny Pesky was drafted after the 1942 season. The following February, however, he received a new contract from the Red Sox and the dreaded letter from his draft board on the very same day.
Tom served as a physical education instructor in the Navy for three years and returned to Fenway in time to play during Boston’s pennant-winning 1946 season. He spent the year as a little-used defensive replacement and was released shortly after his 40th birthday.
Tom worked in the team’s minor-league system through the 1950 season and then retired from baseball. He settled in Rochester, where he reunited with old friends and became involved with the Rotary and other groups. He was a regular speaker at sports night fundraisers. He passed away at the age of 63.