Dick O'Connell
Dick O'Connell | |
---|---|
Born | Winthrop, Massachusetts, U.S. | September 19, 1914
Died | August 18, 2002 Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 87)
Occupation | Baseball executive |
Years active | 1947–1977 |
Richard Henry O'Connell (September 19, 1914 – August 18, 2002) was an
Early life
A native of
Rising through the Red Sox' ranks
Two years later, O'Connell joined Boston's front office in an administrative capacity. He rose through the ranks, serving as "home secretary"
As the GM seat lay vacant—but perhaps being kept warm for Williams, who was named an "executive assistant" to Yawkey—O'Connell was promoted to executive vice president; meanwhile, field manager Pinky Higgins, who had become a friend of Yawkey's, staked out a position as the top "baseball man" in the Red Sox organization. The New York Times reported on October 1, 1960, that Higgins would assume responsibility for all player personnel decisions, Major and minor league, in the Boston organization, a role typically performed by a general manager. Indeed, the club spent the 1961 and 1962 seasons without a full-time GM. Although O'Connell is listed by the Red Sox media guide as de facto general manager, he retained the title of business manager[5] and likely focused only on the administrative aspect of the job; it is unclear (and doubtful) that he had any baseball operations role. Higgins shed his on-field responsibilities and formally became executive vice president/GM at the close of the 1962 season.
During the early 1960s, Boston overhauled its farm system and scouting operation and was beginning to produce outstanding talent, but the big league Red Sox continued to struggle and attendance dwindled. Finally, during the closing days of a dispiriting 100-loss 1965 season, Yawkey fired Higgins and offered the general manager position to O'Connell on September 16.
Architect of 'The Impossible Dream' and 1975 AL champs
Still seen as inexperienced in baseball operations and talent evaluation, O'Connell initially shared power with vice president, player personnel
But by
The Red Sox posted winning seasons from 1968 to 1974 and continued to rank among the AL leaders in home attendance, but could not match the success of the league's dominant teams of the era, the
In 1975, led by rookies Lynn and Rice, the Red Sox won the AL East title, swept defending world champion Oakland in the ALCS, and battled another NL powerhouse, the Cincinnati Reds, to the limit in a thrilling World Series. Once again, O'Connell was hailed as Executive of the Year in Major League Baseball.
Abrupt dismissal during ownership change
But O'Connell's tenure with the Red Sox and his baseball career were about to come to an end.
Tom Yawkey had developed a close friendship with Haywood Sullivan—by 1975 playing a reduced role for the Red Sox as director of amateur scouting—but trusted O'Connell to be his top baseball and business executive. The 73-year-old owner died from leukemia on July 9, 1976, nine months after the 1975 pennant. His widow and heir, Jean, was both a strong ally of Sullivan's and an adversary of O'Connell's. She criticized O'Connell's player transactions, his willingness to negotiate with (and ultimately sign to new contracts) potential free agents Fisk, Lynn and Burleson, his attempted big-money purchase of Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi from the Oakland A's in June 1976 (vetoed within hours by Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn), and his signing of free agent relief pitcher Bill Campbell,
When Mrs. Yawkey put the club up for sale in 1977, she chose—and ultimately joined—Sullivan's ownership group, and then, on October 24, 1977, fired O'Connell as GM in favor of Sullivan, after the Red Sox won 97 games but finished 2+1⁄2 games behind the New York Yankees in the pennant race.
The firing ended O'Connell's baseball career, although almost six years later, on June 6, 1983, a bizarre postscript was added. A power struggle broke out among the Red Sox owners, and one of the
Over time, O'Connell and the Red Sox mended fences and he was admitted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997. Pundits hailed him as the architect who most helped to create Red Sox Nation by bringing the team back from near-irrelevance in 1967.
By the time of his death, at age 87 on August 18, 2002, in Lexington, Massachusetts, O'Connell was recognized as one of the most important men in Red Sox annals. He was praised by author Howard Bryant, who stated in a 2004 interview with The Hardball Times, "To me, Dick O'Connell is the most underrated person in Red Sox history. He was the first Red Sox executive to look at the club and make baseball decisions and not crony decisions."[7]
References
- ^ The Official 1951 Baseball Guide, St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1951
- ^ The 1955 Baseball Dope Book, St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1955
- ^ The 1960 Baseball Dope Book, St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1960
- ISBN 978-0-316-61435-1.
- St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1962, page 48
- ^ Wulf, Steve (June 20, 1983). "The Fight is Over the Red Sox, Not in Them". vault.si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ Belth, Alex. "Hardball Questions: Howard Bryant," The Hardball Times, Thursday, March 18, 2004.
External links
- Keane, Kerry, Dick O'Connell. Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project
- Biography on Fenway Fanatics website
- The New York Times obituary
Further reading
- The Associated Press, Higgins Gets Pact: Red Sox Manager, Signed for Three Years, Has 'Free Hand', The New York Times, October 1, 1960.
- Bryant, Howard, Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston. Boston: The Beacon Press, 2002.
- Gammons, Peter, Beyond the Sixth Game. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1985.
- The Sporting News, 1951 Official Baseball Guide, 1955 Baseball Dope Book, 1960 Baseball Dope Book, 1966 Official Baseball Guide, 1967 Official Baseball Guide.
- Stout, Glenn and Johnson, Richard A., Red Sox Century. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 2000.