Larry Lucchino, former Red Sox executive who won three World Series rings in Boston, dies at 78

Larry Lucchino, who served as president of the Boston Purple Sox when the crew ended its 86-year World Collection drought in 2004, died Tuesday. He was 78. No explanation for dying was given. Lucchino was a most cancers survivor who was handled for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma within the Nineteen Eighties, prostate most cancers in 1999, and kidney most cancers in 2019.

“To us, Larry was an distinctive one that mixed a Corridor of Fame life as a Main League Baseball government along with his ardour for serving to these folks most in want,” his household mentioned in an announcement. “He introduced the identical ardour, tenacity, and probing intelligence to all his endeavors, and his achievements communicate for themselves.”

A Pittsburgh native, Lucchino attended Yale Regulation Faculty and later practiced in Washington D.C., which led to a place on the board of the administrators with the NFL’s Washington franchise. He then grew to become president of the Baltimore Orioles in 1988. Lucchino most well-liked previous type ballparks and was instrumental within the building of Camden Yards, which was accomplished in 1992.

After working with the O’s from 1988-93, Lucchino then grew to become CEO of the San Diego Padres, and performed a task in getting approval for a brand new stadium in downtown San Diego. Lucchino was with the Padres from 1995-2001, at which level he joined the Purple Sox as their crew president. Petco Park, the Padres’ present stadium, opened in 2004.

“Larry’s profession unfolded like a playbook of triumphs, marked by transformative moments that reshaped ballpark design, enhanced the fan expertise, and engineered the best situations for championships wherever his path led him, and particularly in Boston,” Purple Sox proprietor John Henry mentioned in an announcement.

“But, maybe his most enduring legacy lies within the outstanding folks he helped assemble on the Purple Sox, all of whom are a testomony to his coaching, knowledge, and mentorship. A lot of them proceed to form the group at this time, carrying ahead the identical vigor, vitality, and cherished sayings that have been hallmarks of Larry’s character. Larry was a formidable opponent in any enviornment, and whereas he battled laborious, he all the time maintained the utmost respect for a worthy adversary and located real pleasure in sparring with folks. I used to be fortunate sufficient to have had him in my nook for 14 years and to have known as him a detailed buddy for even longer. He was actually irreplaceable and might be missed by all of us on the Purple Sox.”

Lucchino employed Theo Epstein to run Boston’s entrance workplace quickly after becoming a member of the Purple Sox. Epstein started his profession in baseball in public relations with the Orioles beneath Lucchino, after which adopted him to the Padres, the place he broke into baseball operations. Lucchino additionally inspired Epstein to attend regulation college throughout their time in San Diego.

From 2002-15, Lucchino was crew president for 3 World Collection championships in Boston (2004, 2007, 2013), together with two with Epstein. He retired after the 2015 season and served because the chairman of the Jimmy Fund, which advantages the Dana-Farber Most cancers Institute and is the Purple Sox’s official charity, from 2016 till his dying.

Lucchino received three World Collection with the Purple Sox and likewise a Nationwide League pennant with the Padres in 1998. Along with Camden Yards and Petco Park, he additionally performed a task within the building of Polar Park, house of Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester, and likewise JetBlue Park, the membership’s spring coaching facility.

“Larry Lucchino was one of the crucial completed executives that our business has ever had,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned in an announcement. “He was deeply pushed, he understood baseball’s place in our communities, and he had a eager eye for government expertise. Larry’s imaginative and prescient for Camden Yards performed a significant function in advancing fan-friendly ballparks throughout the sport. He adopted up by overseeing the development of Petco Park, which stays a jewel of the San Diego group. Then Larry teamed with John Henry and Tom Werner to provide essentially the most profitable period in Purple Sox historical past, which included historic World Collection Championships on the sphere and a renewed dedication to Fenway Park.”

Along with his accomplishments in baseball, Lucchino was additionally with Washington for his or her Tremendous Bowl win in 1983, and he served on the board of administrators for the Particular Olympics. He was inducted into the Purple Sox Corridor of Fame in 2016 and the Padres Corridor of Fame in 2022.