Collins remained GM through the 1947 season, retiring at age 60 after a period of declining health. During his 15 years as general manager, Collins helped turn a dreadful team into a contender once again. After two years rebuilding the awful team he'd inherited, Collins managed winning seasons in seven of his final 12 years as general manager. His 1946 team won the Red Sox' first pennant since 1918. On the debit side, he instituted an unofficial policy of not signing black players — an unofficial league-wide policy that stayed in place until Jackie Robinson's signing by Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey, and Robinson's debut with the Triple-A Montreal Royals in 1946 — and ultimately the Red Sox were the last major league team to sign black players. Author Howard Bryant wrote that Collins' prejudice also extended to Jews and Catholics. In May 2018, shortly after the City of Boston reverted the name of Yawkey Way to its original name of Jersey Street at the Red Sox' request, plaques honoring Yawkey and Collins were removed from outside Fenway Park; Collins' plaque had been in place since 1951.