Cleveland Guardians owner Lawrence J. “Larry” Dolan died at age 94, the club said Monday.
Guardians senior vice president for public affairs Bob DiBiasio said in a statement that Dolan passed on Sunday night. A cause of death was not given.
“We are saddened by the loss of our dad, but lucky to have him as part of our lives as long as we did,” his son Paul Dolan, the team’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement on the family’s behalf. “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.”
Paul Dolan had taken over for his father as the organization’s primary control person in 2013.
Larry Dolan purchased the club on Feb. 15, 2000, making the Dolan family the longest-serving owners in franchise history.
He was a native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, attended Notre Dame and served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Marines. He was remembered for engaging in a number of philanthropic endeavors in Northeast Ohio.
“Mr. Dolan invested his entire life in Greater Cleveland and impacted our community on so many levels,” DiBiasio’s statement said. “From his service to our country as a First Lieutenant in the United States Marines, his many philanthropic acts of kindness, career in law, business, education and sports, many benefited from his engagement, influence and passion. Especially in the world of sports.
“We are forever grateful for his passion in supporting the Northeast Ohio community and our franchise; through his initial leadership the Dolan family continues to be the longest-tenured owners in franchise history.”
Dolan bought the team when they were still known as the Cleveland Indians and he approved of the team’s name change to the Guardians after the 2021 season, citing a national reckoning over racist names in comments to the Associated Press.
The Guardians have become a frequent playoff team under the Dolans’ care. They have had 14 winning seasons and nine postseason berths since 2000, and in 2016 they reached their first World Series since 1997, losing to the Chicago Cubs in seven games.
“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,” Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr., said in a statement Monday, also citing Dolan’s exceptional commitment to the Greater Cleveland community.
“Larry also served the industry by bringing his professional expertise to the Major League Executive Council and the Ownership Committee, and he served on two labor negotiating committees. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Paul Dolan and the entire Dolan family.”
Dolan also attempted to buy the expansion Cleveland Browns in 1998 before turning attention to the baseball team.
