Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, Sawyer was a minor league outfielder in his playing days who batted and threw right-handed; he was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 210 pounds (95 kg). A rarity among baseball people of his era, Sawyer held an advanced degree from an Ivy League university: a master\'s degree in biology and physiology from Cornell. He had earned an undergraduate degree from Ithaca College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and later taught biology in the off-season.\n', '

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 Bronx 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.\n', '

In 1944, Sawyer left the Yankees to join the Phillies\' organization. He managed the Utica Blue Sox of the Class A Eastern League from 1944–47 and was in his first season with the Phils\' top farm club, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Triple-A International League, when he was promoted to replace Ben Chapman as the Phillies\' manager on July 26, 1948.\n', '

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