RIP Larry Lucchino

[Frobby]

Larry Lucchino accomplished my fantasy of converting from a mere lawyer to a baseball executive.  A law partner of former O’s owner Edward Bennett Williams, he did a lot of legal work for the Orioles and then was named team President from 1988-93 before moving on to the Padres.   While he was President of the O’s, he oversaw the design and construction of Camden Yards.   I think we can all be grateful for the great job he did with that.

Lucchino died today at age 78.  Rest in peace.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

 

[Just Regular]

Sean MacAdam just did some remembrances on MLB Network.

One story told about his famous demanding trait -  before the Duck Boat parade a couple days after lifting the Curse of the Bambino, he was screaming at Terry Francona "can't you get these guys to do anything?" when Lucchino wanted everyone in jerseys, and Francona wouldn't require his (generally hungover) group of guys to do it.

[Frobby]

From the Banner:

Lucchino served as the Orioles’ president from 1988 to 1993, and his presence atop the organization helped to steer Baltimore away from the concrete bowl stadiums that were fashionable at the time. He hired Janet Marie Smith to be the Orioles’ vice president of planning and development, and together they led a collaborative effort with the Maryland Stadium Authority, contractors and state to create a gem of a ballpark in downtown.

“There were a lot of people who played a role, but Larry was the leader,” said Smith, who’s now the executive chair of Canopy Team and the executive vice president of planning and development for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smith said Lucchino’s focus went beyond the structure of the ballpark and focused on fan experience and community relations.

“It’s not just an era of ballparks, it’s a whole era of how the game is thought of and how it’s grown, can be attributed to his constant challenging everyone around him to think beyond what they did yesterday and beyond what others in the industry were doing,” Smith continued. “He was consistently reminding us, ‘We’re all fans. Look in the mirror. What would you want? How would we want to be treated?’”

* * *

After a meeting with then-Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth in the late 1980s — during which Ueberroth painted an image that baseball stadiums should have a standardized shape and size — Lucchino walked into a meeting with Orioles and MSA officials carrying a brochure advertising the Yugo, a one-size-fits-all economy car.

He tossed the brochure into the table.

“We don’t drive Yugos,” Lucchino said. “We’re not looking to play in one.”

Instead, he oversaw the construction of a game-changing stadium that ushered in a new era of ballparks that each have their own unique quirks.

“Baltimore would literally not be the same without him,” Smith said. “That’s not an exaggeration.”

[OrangeRocks]

I checked out his Wikipedia and saw that as an executive, he experienced 4 World Series Championships and 1 Super Bowl Championship. I imagine very few have both.

[Roll Tide]

RIP Larry…. Thanks for all you did for the Orioles.

[Moose Milligan]

RIP, sad to see that news.  

[jabba72]

According to the Camden Yards wiki page, Lucchino is solely responsible for the idea to build Camden Yards as the stadium design team approached him with a model similar to the new Cominsky. Lucchino refused saying he wanted a retro-park. Good idea. 

[NashLumber]

30 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

According to the Camden Yards wiki page, Lucchino is solely responsible for the idea to build Camden Yards as the stadium design team approached him with a model similar to the new Cominsky. Lucchino refused saying he wanted a retro-park. Good idea. 

That was my intro to him, reading that book about the making of Camden Yards. “Ballpark”. He and Janet Marie Smith were central to the book’s narrative. It’s so fascinating that I’ve read it twice over the years. 

 

Rest in peace. 

Edited April 2 by NashLumber