Larry Lucchino
Lawrence "Larry" Lucchino (born September 6, 1945) is the former president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, and member of John W. Henry's ownership group.[1]
Larry Lucchino | |
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Larry Lucchino, left, reacts to a sacrificial Baby Ruth bar, presented by two US Army soldiers in 2005 | |
Born | Lawrence Lucchino September 6, 1945 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Education | Princeton University Yale Law School |
Awards |
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Early life
A Pittsburgh native and basketball player,[2] Lucchino graduated from Princeton University in 1967 and later attended Yale Law School, where he was a classmate of Hillary Clinton.[3][4]
Career
After law school, Lucchino practiced law with the Washington, D. C., law firm of Williams & Connolly. The founder, famed litigator Edward Bennett Williams, had ownership interest in both the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Orioles.[3] Lucchino's law practice at Williams & Connolly included a substantial amount of work for those two sports teams. Through that work he ultimately became President/CEO of the Baltimore Orioles and later, the San Diego Padres, before joining the Red Sox in November, 2001.[5]
Lucchino is known for having initiated the trend of building baseball-only facilities with an old-fashioned charm and smaller seating capacities. Under his watch, both teams built new stadiums, pioneering Oriole Park at Camden Yards[3] and Petco Park. Since then, about one-half of Major League Baseball's 30 teams followed this lead and built new stadiums with the old-style look and feel.
As part of the management team which signed David Ortiz to the Red Sox, Lucchino "always enjoyed a strong connection with Big Papi throughout his entire career" and including at the time of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.[6] Lucchino also brought future general manager Theo Epstein with him to the Red Sox from the Orioles and the Padres,[7] having also encouraged Epstein to get his law degree while he was working at the Padres.[8]
On August 1, 2015, the Red Sox announced that Lucchino was stepping down after the 2015 season.[5] He retired on October 5, 2015.
Lucchino continues as chairman and co-owner of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Pawtucket Red Sox.[6]
Activities
Lucchino serves on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics.[9] He was named as the Commencement speaker for Boston University's 2008 graduating class,[10] guest speaker at New England School of Law's 2008 graduation ceremony, Bryant University's Class of 2009, and the Anna Maria College Class of 2010.
Personal life
Lucchino is the only person known to have World Series rings (Orioles ’83, Red Sox ’04, ’07, '13 and '18),[3] a Super Bowl ring (Redskins ’82) and a Final Four watch (Princeton, ’65).[3]
Lucchino is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor.[11][12] In December 2019, he underwent surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to remove a cancerous blockage in the kidney area.[13]
References
- "Front Office". Boston Red Sox.
- Basil, Anuj, "From Jadwin to Fenway bluegrass" Archived 2016-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Princetonian, January 7, 2005. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2012-05-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "PAW April 7, 2004: Features". princeton.edu.
- Shaughnessy, Dan, "Red Sox CEO Lucchino to leave at season’s end", Boston Globe, August 02, 2015. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- McGair, Brendan, "PawSox owner Larry Lucchino reflects on the career of Red Sox slugger David Ortiz", pawtuckettimes.com, October 9, 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- Hohler, Bob, "Epstein was an old pro", boston.com/NESN, October 29, 2004.
- Gopisetty, Smita, "For Epstein ’95, a dream fulfilled at 28", Yale Daily News, December 11, 2002.
- "Special Olympics: Special Olympics A to Z". specialolympics.org.
- Commencement 2008, Boston University. "One of [350] best commenement speeches, ever", NPR, July 2, 2015; with link to text. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- "Larry Lucchino" Archived 2013-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Larry Lucchino undergoes surgery to remove cancerous blockage in kidney area". The Boston Globe. December 18, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019 – via Boston.com.
External links
- Larry Lucchino: Keynote Address at Boston University's 135th Commencement Ceremony, on BUniverse, Boston University's video archive.
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Dick Freeman |
San Diego Padres President 1995–2001 |
Succeeded by Bob Vizas |