When I hear the name Larry Lucchino, there are six words that come to mind…
“Larry Lucchino runs the Red Sox.”
Those words were spoken by owner John Henry in a now iconic and defiant sports radio interview 13 years ago.
Boy, were they ever true…
Larry Lucchino certainly did run the Boston Red Sox. In fact, he ran them better than anyone else ever has — and perhaps he ran them better than anyone has ever run a sports franchise in history.
The Red Sox & the sports world have lost a giant.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 2, 2024
Larry was a visionary whose competitive spirit & strong will took sports franchises to new heights, particularly ours.
He was a curse-breaker, ballpark-preserver & community champion.
Thank you, Larry. pic.twitter.com/KFjuqNeaKE
The news on Tuesday of Lucchino’s passing at the age of 78 brought with it tributes and remembrances from all around the world of sports, including the longest press release announcing the death of a team icon that I’ve ever seen from the Red Sox.
It was a fitting send off for the longtime president/CEO and architect of the most successful baseball team of the modern era.
Lucchino, after all, was more than a team president. He was a sportsman, through and through. A two-time Ivy League champion and Final Four participant on the basketball court at Princeton, a Super Bowl champion with the Washington Redskins and a World Series champion with the Baltimore Orioles as an executive, an executive who helped preserve Padres baseball in San Diego.
And, of course, a four-time World Series champion — beginning with the gem of all Boston sports titles, the breaking of the “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004 — sitting in the captain’s chair for the Red Sox.
Remembering the legacy of Larry Lucchino: pic.twitter.com/jfHrzo3HM7
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 2, 2024
“Larry’s career unfolded like a playbook of triumphs, marked by transformative moments that reshaped ballpark design, enhanced the fan experience, and engineered the ideal conditions for championships wherever his path led him, and especially in Boston,” a statement from Henry on Tuesday read.
Lucchino’s status as the architect of the pinnacle of Boston baseball extended beyond business and roster decisions. The team labeled him “instrumental” in assembling the ownership version of the “Big Three” — Henry, chairman Tom Werner and himself — in 2001. In fact, Henry once said hiring Lucchino was the best decision he ever made as the owner of the Red Sox and called him the “best CEO in sports.”
“When John and I joined forces with Larry in 2001, we dreamed not only of breaking an 86-year curse and winning multiple Championships, but also about how a baseball team could transform and uplift a region,” Werner said in the statement.
And transform and uplift a region they did. The Patriots may have won first — and more often — but it was the success of the Red Sox two decades ago that marked the turning of the tide for sports in Boston. The lovable losers became the hated winners, and “Loserville” became the “City of Champions.”