CLEVELAND — Cleveland Guardians owner Larry Dolan died at the age of 94 on Sunday night, the team announced on Monday.
Dolan's love of sports began as a young child as he ran around sandlots of Cleveland Heights and continued as a running back, defensive back and catcher at St. Ignatius High School.
His two dreams as a Cleveland athlete were to play at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, where his boyhood idol, Lou Boudreau, starred, and to own one of Cleveland's professional sports teams.
On November 26, 1949, he achieved that first dream as he helped lead the St. Ignatius football team to its first-ever Charity Game victory and second City Championship in school history. As a running back during the game, he threw a touchdown pass, and he had an interception as a defensive back in the 13-0 win over East Tech.
Dolan went on to complete his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Notre Dame, where he met his wife, Eva.
After college, Dolan served two years in the U.S. Marine Corps, after which he became the president and managing partner of a law firm in Chardon.
Dolan and Eva raised six kids together, and the family supported numerous charities, including The Christopher Foundation, the American Red Cross, The Cleveland Foundation, Mission Possible, Catholic Charities and the Geauga Family YMCA.
In 2000, Dolan purchased the Guardians.
On January 10, 2013, Larry’s son, Paul, was approved by Major League Baseball as the primary controller of the organization.
“Cleveland sadly lost one of their own last night,” said Bob DiBiasio, Guardians SVP/Public Affairs. “Mr. Dolan invested his entire life in Greater Cleveland and impacted our community on so many levels. 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.”
For the past 12 years of the Dolan Family's ownership, the Guardians have the third most wins in Major League Baseball with 1,013. And in the past 24 seasons with Dolan, the team has had 14 winning campaigns.
Dolan is survived by his wife Eva, six children and 21 grandchildren. The family is planning on private funeral arrangements.
“We are saddened by the loss of our Dad, but lucky to have him as part of our lives as long as we did,” said Dolan's son, Paul Dolan, on behalf of the entire family. “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.”
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. issued the statement below regarding Dolan's death:
“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. 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. 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.”
