Joseph Vincent Devine (March 3, 1892 – September 21, 1951) was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, credited for signing

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

to the Yankees.

Baseball career

Born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, Devine was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, and was on the

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

roster of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

, but never advanced to the majors. He managed a local team in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, scouted with

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

, and managed a baseball team in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

before joining the

organization. After the Pirates he managed the

Mission Reds The Mission Reds were a Minor League Baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. By 1932 he was hired by Paul Krichell to be the

chief scout in the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. He also signed

Andy Carey Andrew Arthur Carey ( Hexem; October 18, 1931 – December 15, 2011) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1952–1960), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961), Chicago Wh ...

Jerry Coleman Gerald Francis Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 19 ...

Fenton Mole Fenton Le Roy "Muscles" Mole (June 14, 1925 – February 20, 2017) was an American Major League Baseball player. Biography Mole was born in San Leandro, California. He played two seasons for Newark in the minor leagues, 1947 and 1949. He was cal ...

Johnny Lindell John Harlan Lindell (August 30, 1916 – August 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player who was an outfielder and pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1950 and from 1953 to 1954 for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinal ...

Cliff Mapes Clifford Franklin Mapes (March 13, 1922 – December 5, 1996) was a professional baseball player. He played five seasons of Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers. Professional career ...

Charlie Silvera Charles Anthony Ryan Silvera (October 13, 1924 – September 7, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball player and coach. Nicknamed Swede, he was part of six World Series championships with the New York Yankees. Early years Silvera was born ...

, and

Leo Righetti Leo Charles Righetti (March 4, 1925 – February 19, 1998) was an American professional baseball player. He played in minor league baseball from 1944 through 1957. His son, Dave Righetti, played in Major League Baseball. Early life Righetti grew ...

Scouting style

Devine's scouting style was similar to Krichell's; he not only looked for ability, but also checked a player's personality and character to see if they could handle the pressure of playing for the Yankees. He also looked for size, signing only two players under in height.

Joe Devine Airway Park

Shortly after his death in 1951, the ballpark in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, was renamed

Joe Devine Airway Park Joe Devine Airway Park was a minor league baseball stadium in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Opened in 1939, the ballpark was the home of Boise's teams (Pilots, Yankees, Braves) in the Class C Pioneer League, which briefly ...

. The team had just become a Yankees' affiliate and Devine had played for the Boise Irrigators of the

Union Association The Union Association was an American professional baseball league which competed with Major League Baseball, lasting for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelv ...

References

External links

* *
Deadball Era
– obituary – Joe Devine {{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Joe New York Yankees scouts Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Baseball outfielders