He is best known for discovering players such as Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard, and for his role in Jackie Robinson's ascent to break baseball's color barrier.

In the mid-1940s, as the Dodgers looked to break baseball's color line, Greenwade was sent to Mexico City to scout a black Cuban player named Silvio García.

[2] The scout was sympathetic to racial issues because black family friends had been very helpful to Greenwade in the wake of his mother's death.

[3] Greenwade scouted for the Yankees between 1949 and 1964, discovering players such as Elston Howard and Bobby Murcer.

Regulations at the time dictated that Mantle had to graduate from high school before discussing professional baseball contracts.

[1] According to Greenwade, the eyesight that he inherited from his Native American ancestors helped him to spot good talent as a baseball scout.

"[1] He saved money in any way that he could, and his only major expense was the purchase of Cadillacs; he bought one every two years because of the miles that he logged while pursuing baseball talent.