Yawkey was born in Detroit on February 21, 1903 to insurance executive Thomas J. Austin and his wife Augusta. Augusta was the eldest child of William Clyman Yawkey, who had become wealthy in the lumber and iron ore industries of the Midwestern United States. In addition to these interests, William Clyman Yawkey had agreed in principle to buy the Detroit Tigers baseball team in 1903, but he died before the deal closed. His son, Bill Yawkey, eventually completed the purchase, though the younger Yawkey had little interest in the team and allowed team executive Frank Navin to control day-to-day operations and eventually purchase part of the team.\n', '

Shortly after Tom Yawkey\'s birth, his father, Thomas J. Austin, died. Tom, his mother, and his sister later went to live with Tom\'s uncle Bill Yawkey in New York City. After his mother died in 1918, Bill Yawkey and his wife adopted him, and he took the Yawkey name.\n', '

Bill Yawkey died in 1919 and left his $40 million estate to his adopted son Tom, but a clause in the will forbade him from taking possession of it until he turned 30 years old. Tom Yawkey was a graduate of the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University in 1925 and was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.\n', '

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