Larry Lucchino, force behind retro ballpark revolution and drought-busting Red Sox, dies at 78

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) — Larry Lucchino has died. He was the force behind baseball’s retro ballpark revolution and the transformation of the Boston Red Sox from cursed losers to World Series champions. Lucchino was 78. He had suffered from cancer. Lucchino’s career included three major league baseball franchises and one in the NFL. Lucchino was a Pittsburgh native who played with future U.S. Senator and New York Knick Bill Bradley on the Princeton basketball team that reached the 1965 NCAA Final Four. After law school, Lucchino landed a job with Washington lawyer Edward Bennett Williams and worked on Williams’ sports teams. With the Baltimore Orioles, Lucchino helped build Camden Yards, the ballpark that ended the trend of cookie-cutter stadiums.