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James Lou Gorman

(1929-2011) ~ Inducted 1993

Gorman, Lou, 1929-2011

Mr. Gorman, a native of Providence, was a highly respected major League Baseball executive, and Senior Vice President and general Manger of the Boston Red Sox. Gorman was born in South Providence and was a He standout athlete at LASalle Academy in Providence and at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. Gorman then played played in 16 games for the Providence Grays in 1948. After several years spent achieving higher education and in the Navy, Gorman returned to baseball as a manager in 1962. By 1984 he was named vice president and general manager of the Boston Red Sox. His aquisitions of star athletes from the Mariners helped propel the Sox to the 1986 World Series. Gorman was a senior vice president, then executive vice president, in the team's baseball operations department through 1996. In his later years, Gorman was the Chairman of the Board of the Newport Gulls.

He has been honored with two Major League Baseball ‘Executive of the Year Awards’, and remained involved in professional baseball for well over three decades He spent more than three decades in baseball operations, as a general manager, assistant GM, farm system director or scouting director, and at the time of his death he was the Red Sox' executive consultant for public affairs with an emphasis on community projects. He also was the coordinator of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2002. Additionally, he served as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro League players through financial and medical difficulties. He was also a member of the Boys & Girls Club

Through all his moves and career changes, Gorman never lost touch with his Rhode Island roots. He loved talking about Rhode Island and Rhode Island sports and always took care of his old friends. Lou Gorman died at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston at age 82 on the Opening Day of the Red Sox' 2011 season. Mayor Thomas Menino declared April 8, 2011, the day of the home opener at Fenway Park, as Lou Gorman Day in Boston. The Red Sox also paid tribute to Gorman during the game that afternoon. The Lou Gorman Award was created in 2011 and is given annually to a Red Sox minor league player who has demonstrated dedication and perseverance in overcoming obstacles while working his way to the Major League team.

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James Lou Gorman

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