Larry Lucchino, former World Series winning Boston Red Sox executive, dies at 78

CNN
 — 

Larry Lucchino, whose Boston Purple Sox groups received three World Collection whereas he was president and CEO, died Tuesday morning at age 78, his household stated in a information launch issued by the group.

No reason behind loss of life was given. Lucchino was a three-time most cancers survivor.

Lucchino helped construct championship groups throughout his tenure from 2002 to 2015, with the World Collection title in 2004 being the primary for the group in 86 years. The group additionally received in 2007 and 2013.

Lucchino was additionally notable for his work on MLB stadiums, and whereas with the Baltimore Orioles from 1988 to 1993, he ushered in an period throughout baseball the place new amenities took on a extra intimate, old school design. He helped get a brand new stadium when he labored in San Diego and led enhancements to MLB’s oldest stadium, Boston’s Fenway Park, whereas with the Purple Sox.

“Larry’s profession unfolded like a playbook of triumphs, marked by transformative moments that reshaped ballpark design, enhanced the fan expertise, and engineered the perfect situations for championships wherever his path led him, and particularly in Boston,” Purple Sox proprietor John Henry stated Tuesday. “But, maybe his most enduring legacy lies within the outstanding individuals he helped assemble on the Purple Sox, all of whom are a testomony to his coaching, knowledge, and mentorship.”

Lucchino was a collegiate basketball participant at Princeton College and a Yale Legislation College graduate. Throughout his early days as an legal professional, he labored for the Home Judiciary Committee, which was investigating the Watergate scandal. After President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Lucchino went to work for a legislation agency the place he was particular counsel to the Washington NFL group. He went to work for the Baltimore Orioles in 1979 and left for the Padres in 1994 when he and John Moores bought the group.

“Larry Lucchino was one of the vital completed executives that our trade has ever had,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated. “He was deeply pushed, he understood baseball’s place in our communities, and he had a eager eye for govt expertise. Larry’s imaginative and prescient for Camden Yards performed an important function in advancing fan-friendly ballparks throughout the sport.”

Based on the Purple Sox, Lucchino has the distinctive distinction of incomes 5 World Collection rings (in 1983 with the Orioles, three as Purple Sox president and one other in 2018 when he was proprietor of the group’s Class AAA franchise), a Tremendous Bowl ring (1983 with Washington) and a Last 4 watch (1965 with Princeton).

One in all Lucchino’s greatest hires was Theo Epstein, who at 28 turned basic supervisor of the Purple Sox after working with Lucchino at Baltimore and San Diego. Epstein constructed the the group for the 2004 and 2007 titles earlier than becoming a member of the Chicago Cubs after the 2011 season.

“For me and for therefore a lot of my greatest associates in baseball, Larry gave us our begin, believing in us and setting an everlasting instance together with his work ethic, imaginative and prescient, competitiveness and fearlessness,” stated Epstein, who’s now a accomplice with Fenway Sports activities Group. “He made a profound impression on many in baseball — and on the sport itself — and can be missed.”

Troup Parkinson, the Purple Sox’s govt vp for partnerships, stated Lucchino was very detailed oriented and felt strongly about how Fenway Park ought to look. Parkinson stated he would deliver Lucchino each proposed sponsor check in March and they might negotiate for hours.

“He was completely consumed with making certain the ballpark appeared ‘proper.’ He additionally tended to vary his thoughts relying on his temper, so I’d have him signal each accepted mock-up in pink pen,” Parkinson stated. “After we would stroll the ballpark the evening earlier than Opening Day, and he complained in regards to the look of just about each signal saying ‘I’d by no means approve that,’ I’d deliver all of the signed copies to point out him he truly had.”

Parkinson stated the primary few years it was painful however it turned his favourite factor to do.

Baseball Corridor of Famer and Purple Sox legend David Ortiz stated he noticed Lucchino as somebody who cared enormously in regards to the product on the sphere.

“As a participant, it was typically exhausting to grasp the place he was coming from, however he made every little thing about profitable and the group doing nicely,” Ortiz stated. “As soon as we acquired to know one another higher, we turned actually good associates. I cherished Larry.”

CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.