In 1951, while at spring training with the New York Yankees, a center-field prospect named Frank Finnegan watched a fellow rookie hit 10 straight fastballs over the left field fence, then shift to the other side of the plate and hit 10 more.
“I looked at him and said, ‘Boy, I sure hope he isn't an outfielder,’” Finnegan says.
The guy was a shortstop, but the Bronx Bombers saw a future for him in the outfield. His name: Mickey Mantle. It didn't take long for Finnegan to start considering another profession.
While Mantle went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Yanks, Finnegan soon traded one pinstripe uniform for another and became an Edward Jones broker — with Mr. Jones himself doing the hiring. “I was employee number 23,” Finnegan says. “I think he only hired me because he was a baseball fan.”
In February, Finnegan, who is 76, celebrated his 50th anniversary with the firm. He has worked in the same St. Louis office from the beginning, and his practice has carried clients from one generation to the next.
His interest in investing began with a $500 investment in American Airlines. Why American, you ask? They flew him to his first spring training.
