Лоуренс Луккино: Жизнь и карьера в бейсболе и юриспруденции

American lawyer and baseball executive (1945–2024)

Lawrence Lucchino (September 6, 1945 – April 2, 2024) was an American lawyer and Major League Baseball executive. He served as president of the Baltimore Orioles, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the San Diego Padres, and president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox. He was also chairman of the Worcester Red Sox, the Triple A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox; chairman of The Jimmy Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute; and president and CEO emeritus of Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F. C. Lucchino played college basketball for the Princeton Tigers.

Lawrence Lucchino was born on September 6, 1945, in Pittsburgh. He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School, and attended Princeton University, where he played college basketball. He was a member of the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team for the 1964–65, 1965–66, and 1966–67 seasons. The 1964–65 Tigers, captained by Bill Bradley, advanced to the Final Four of the 1965 NCAA University Division basketball tournament. Lucchino graduated from Princeton in 1967. He earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he was a classmate of Hillary Clinton.

After law school, Lucchino practiced law with the Washington, D. C., law firm of Williams & Connolly. Lucchino was known for having initiated the trend of building baseball only facilities with an old fashioned charm and smaller seating capacities. Under his watch, both the Orioles and Padres built new stadiums, pioneering Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Petco Park, respectively.

Lucchino brought future general manager Theo Epstein with him to the Red Sox from the Orioles and the Padres, having also encouraged Epstein to attend law school while he was working at the Padres. Following the 2002 season, Pedro Martinez called Lucchino asking him to sign David Ortiz, who had been released by the Twins. Lucchino "always enjoyed a strong connection with Big Papi throughout his entire career". Lucchino is credited with coining the term "Evil Empire" for the New York Yankees. On August 1, 2015, the Red Sox announced that Lucchino was stepping down after the 2015 season. Lucchino continued as chairman and co owner of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island based Pawtucket Red Sox. He was a key figure in the relocation of the franchise to Worcester, Massachusetts, becoming the Worcester Red Sox for the 2021 minor league season. Lucchino served as that team's first chairman.

Lucchino previously served on the board of directors for Special Olympics. He was a commencement speaker at several colleges in the New England area, including Boston University (2008), New England School of Law (2008), Bryant University (2009), and Anna Maria College (2010). He was awarded several honorary degrees, including from Boston University, Suffolk University, and Palomar College. He was the only person known to have World Series rings (Orioles, 1983; Red Sox 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018), a Super Bowl ring (Redskins, 1982) and a Final Four watch (Princeton, 1965). and into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 2022. He was also inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, and the Taylor Allderdice High School Hall of Fame. Lucchino was a non Hodgkin lymphoma survivor, undergoing radiation treatment in 1986 after his diagnosis in September 1985. In October 1999, he had surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital to remove localized prostate cancer. In December 2019, he underwent surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to remove a cancerous blockage in the kidney area. In August 2023, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute presented Lucchino with the Boston Red Sox Jimmy Fund Award for his help in raising $142 million over the years. and he adopted her two children, Davis and Blair.

On April 2, 2024, Lucchino died from heart failure at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the age of 78.