Larry Lucchino

??????????? I am pleased that the Red Sox recently hosted a formal celebration of the life of Larry Lucchino who played such an important part in the life of our city for over two decades.

Not a lot of Italian boys from humble circumstances attended Princeton in the 1960s.? Those of us at Harvard always thought Princeton was very white and Protestant and somewhat southern. One of my Boston Latin School friends arrived at Princeton with a wonderful Italian name; after he graduated, his name had been changed!? Larry thrived at Princeton, both on the basketball court and in the classroom and then was off to law school.

Larry fell into baseball when he worked for the legendary Edward Bennett Williams in Washington, D.C.? He was responsible, along with Janet Marie Smith, for creating Camden Yards, the first modern ballpark which reflected all of the wonderful aspects of old parks like Fenway and Wrigley.? He did likewise in San Diego and then in Boston and in Fort Myers, once again with Janet Marie Smith - the greatest baseball architect of all time - at his side.?

In his last years, Larry gave us Polar Park which provided a wonderful venue for a AAA Team within driving distance of Boston, which makes it easy to shuttle players up and down the Mass Pike when needed, as has definitely been the case in 2024.

Larry was also an active volunteer at The Jimmy Fund and knew from personal experience, on three occasions I believe, that cancer is a devastating diagnosis for any family.

Our paths crossed frequently, often in civic or baseball-related settings in Ft. Myers or at Fenway Park. We were such similar people that it was always an easy conversation.

On one occasion, I was at Spring Training with my friend Bill, and we saw Janet Marie and her family, including her husband, my classmate Bart Harvey, at the Diamondhead having breakfast.? She invited us to come to the owner’s box for lunch.? There, presiding as my mother would have presided, was Rose Lucchino, of the same size as most of the older women in my family, with snow white hair, very proud of her son and of the good Italian food he had assembled on the table. It was an absolute blast.?

Later, Larry called me up somewhat in distress and asked whether something was wrong with his relationship with the City of Boston.? I asked “Why?”? Larry replied, “Mayor Menino just yelled at me.” I thought to myself that Mayor Menino had yelled at most everybody at some point. I made my phone calls, as I had done on other occasions, and then confirmed that Larry was still in good standing.? I expect he slept well that night.

I hope Larry is now at peace after a very productive life.