Longtime Cleveland Guardians owner Larry Dolan has died at age 94, the team announced Monday.
The Dolan family is the longest-tenured owner in franchise history, and its patriarch is a lifelong Clevelander who influenced his community both on and off the field over the years.
“We are saddened by the loss of our Dad, but lucky to have him as part of our lives as long as we did,” Dolan’s son, chair and CEO Paul Dolan, said in a statement. “He was a loving husband, father and grandfather who was passionate about his family, work, our community and his love of our local sports teams, including owning the Cleveland Guardians.”
The Guardians added a video to its announcement of Dolan’s death, saying “Cleveland sadly lost one of its own today.”
“Born in Cleveland Heights in 1931, Lawrence J. Dolan invested his entire life in Greater Cleveland and impacted our community on so many levels,” the narrator says over a montage of Dolan pictures. “From his service to our country as a first lieutenant in the United States Marines, his many philanthropic acts in kindness, his career in law, business, education and sports, many benefited from his engagement, influence and passion, especially in the world of sports.”
Dolan was a multi-sport star at Saint Ignatius High School, playing both running back and defensive back on the football team and starring as a catcher on the baseball diamond.
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“He was blessed to realize two dreams [of] almost every Cleveland athlete of his generation: to play on the field at Cleveland Stadium, where his boyhood idol, Lou Boudreau, starred, and to own one of our city’s professional sports teams,” the narrator continues.
“In February 2000, he purchased his beloved hometown baseball team. We are forever grateful for his passion and supporting the Northeast Ohio community and the Cleveland Guardians organization.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred also released a statement on Dolan, expressing his condolences to the family and organization.
“I am saddened by the passing of Cleveland native Larry Dolan, whose family’s quarter-century ownership has made their hometown team a consistent winner and a staple of their community,” Manfred wrote in a statement. “Larry was a lifelong baseball fan who served our country as a First Lieutenant in the United States Marines. He strongly believed in mentoring young people and using the Guardians as a way to impact Greater Cleveland.”
Dolan purchased his hometown team for “323 million from Richard Jacobs, and he saw Cleveland post 14 winning seasons and nine trips to the postseason since then.”
In 2016, they reached the World Series as the American League pennant winners but fell to the Chicago Cubs at home in a thrilling game.
Paul Dolan ultimately took over as the primary owner of the franchise in 2013, eventually overseeing the team’s name change to Guardians in 2021.
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