In Major League baseball, agents are as ubiquitous as batting gloves and ball caps. But it wasn’t always that way. It wasn’t until the 1950s when Frank Scott agreed to represent Yogi Berra, that player agents came into vogue.
The Scott-Berra partnership happened by accident. Scott, a former New York Yankees official, was having dinner at Berra’s home when Yogi’s wife noticed Scott was not wearing a watch.
“She excused herself and reappeared with a whole tray of wristwatches, at least 20, and told me to take my pick,” Scott told the New York Times.
Companies had been paying Berra with wrist watches for personal appearances. Scott knew a man only needs so many timepieces and figured he could arrange more lucrative deals for Berra.
Unlike today’s agents, Scott didn’t negotiate player contracts with teams. Instead he focused on off-the-field endorsements and appearances. Berra was his first client, and he soon began representing Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.
In 1956, Mantle’s salary with the Yankees was $30,000. He earned another $70,000 in endorsements that Scott secured for him.
Scott wasn’t the first sports agent, but he was the first players’ agent in baseball to focus on off-the-field earnings. He went on to represent a host of future Hall of Famers including Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays. He also represented Vince Lombardi, Frank Gifford and Y. A. Tittle from football and Oscar Robertson and Bob Cousy from basketball.
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