WORCESTER—There was a moment of silence for Larry Lucchino before Tuesday’s fourth home opener at Polar Park.
An hour of silence would have been appropriate, too.
The founder of the Worcester Red Sox died Tuesday morning at age 78. He had been dealing with multiple health issues and was a three-time cancer survivor. Lucchino had been a presence at Polar Park until recently and was there when he was announced as one of the charter members of the Worcester Red Sox Hall of Fame along with Ed Augustus and Rich Gedman.
“It is sad news,” said Augustus, who spent more than a year in talks with Lucchino that resulted in the Pawtucket Red Sox moving here and Polar Park being built. “He was a friend and I’m going to miss him. We shared this vision of how a ballpark like Polar Park can transform a city.”
In a statement released by the Red Sox, his family said:
“We are heartbroken to share that our beloved brother and uncle, Lawrence Lucchino, passed away on April 2 surrounded by his family. The Lucchino family wishes to thank his friends and caregivers who, over the past few months, have surrounded him with love, laughter, and happy memories.”
WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg worked with Lucchino from his arrival in Baltimore through his death.
“I’d call him a boss, a coach, a mentor and a friend,” Steinberg said. He remembered having a Thanksgiving dinner with Lucchino one year and he told Steinberg, “When we work as closely as we do, the line between a boss and a friend really blurs.”
Steinberg added, “It never really felt like a boss relationship, although you always knew he was the boss.”
Lucchino sold the WooSox to Diamond Baseball Holdings late last year. They became one of 29 teams owned by DBH. Peter Freund, that company’s CEO, had several choices for an Opening Day appearance but was here.
That was planned before Lucchino’s death.
However, “If I had been on a plane when I got the news this morning, I would have turned around,” Freund said.
Lucchino grew up in Pittsburgh and felt a connection with Worcester because he thought it was very similar to his hometown. Plus, it was the home of his favorite basketball player, Bob Cousy.
Lucchino served as an executive with several major league teams before leading a group that bought the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2015. He was involved in management with the Orioles, Padres and Red Sox and was the driving force in the construction of Camden Yards, Petco Park in San Diego, the JetBlue park in Fort Myers and Polar Park.
He was as proud of Polar Park as he was of any of his projects.
Steinberg last saw Lucchino at his Brookline home on Saturday. Lucchino was quiet for much of the time but Steinberg talked to his friend throughout the visit, then it was time to go.
“I can tell you [Lucchino’s] final words to me,” Steinberg said. “He said, ‘I’ve got to tell you that Camden Yards is filling up every day. Petco Park is filling up every day. Fenway Park is still a gem. JetBlue Park has had a great spring training and Polar Park is sold out for opening day and is called the best ballpark in Triple-A, so you’re five-for-five.’”
With that, Lucchino opened his eyes and turned his head and told Steinberg — “Five for five? That’s pretty good.”
Lucchino was an All-City athlete in Pittsburgh in both baseball and basketball. He played with Bill Bradley at Princeton when that school reached the Final Four in 1965.
He worked for Edward Bennett Williams and with Hilary Clinton on the Watergate hearings. During his time as President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox from 2002 through 2015, the team won three World Series titles. That was as many as they had won in the previous 98 years.
He sold the WooSox to Diamond Baseball Holdings late last year but remained active with the team as its Chairman.
Augustus remembered the intense, sometimes contentious, talks that led to the creation of Polar Park. He also remembered how close the deal came to falling through.
The night before the agreement was to be announced the various people involved met at Lucchino’s home for a celebration.
“We were all exhausted,” Augustus recalled, “and Larry brought up an issue about something like who was going to pay for moving some soil. At that point he had pushed a little further than he should have.
“And at that point I just walked out of the house and headed down the driveway. He chased me down the driveway and when he caught up with me he said, ‘You’re right. I did push to far. Do we still have a deal?”
The men shook hands right there and Polar Park was officially born.
Lucchino’s death the morning of the ballpark’s fourth Opening Day seems like a surreal coincidence.
“On a bittersweet day,” Steinberg said, “I had to laugh that he chose that, on the morning of Opening Day — Larry loved clarity. He did not want any ambiguity. I think that the transfer of ownership of this club was a succession plan that Larry envisioned, and I think that he said, ‘OK, Opening Day belongs to Peter Freund and Diamond Baseball Holdings and I will watch from a better seat in the sky than the soft in his home from where was going to have to watch it.’”
A baseball season has many days but only one Opening Day. The annual one at Polar Park will forever be connected with Lucchino’s life more than his death. Given his fondness for what he helped forge here, that is probably exactly what he would have liked.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
