Buddy LeRoux

LeRoux (at front left) and Boston Celtics players with President John F. Kennedy in January 1963

Edward Guy "Buddy" LeRoux Jr. (August 17, 1930 – January 7, 2008) was an American businessman, best known for his time as a general partner of the Boston Red Sox from May 1978 through March 1987.

Early life A native of Woburn, Massachusetts, LeRoux graduated from Woburn Memorial High School and Northeastern University and was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He began his sporting career as an athletic trainer for the Boston Celtics (during their championship runs in the 1950s and 1960s), the Boston Bruins, and the Boston Red Sox (1966–1974). During the 1970s, he also began to flourish in the business world, successfully investing in real estate and a series of physical therapy and rehabilitation hospitals.

Boston Red Sox general partner By 1977, LeRoux was wealthy enough to assemble a group of investors seeking to purchase the Red Sox from the estate of longtime owner Tom Yawkey, who had died in 1976. Yawkey's widow, Jean, had been owner and president during much of the 1976 season.

With the backing of Rogers Badgett, a Kentucky-based coal magnate, LeRoux put together a 30-share limited partnership and then recruited Red Sox vice president Haywood Sullivan, one of Mrs. Yawkey's favorites among her husband's employees, as a member of his syndicate. On September 29, 1977, Mrs. Yawkey announced the team's sale to LeRoux and Sullivan's ownership group for $15 million. However, a lawsuit brought by an unsuccessful bidder for the Red Sox unearthed serious flaws in the sale agreement. The New York Times reported on November 20, 1977, that LeRoux and Sullivan had largely managed to gain 52 percent of the franchise due to an $8 million loan from Boston's State Street Bank, and that each man had each invested only $100,000 of their own capital in the deal.

On December 8, American League owners voted 11–3 to reject the proposed purchase. Over the next five months, both the terms of the sale and LeRoux' ownership group were restructured. Mrs. Yawkey, who had originally been a limited partner in the group, re-invested in the Red Sox and joined the LeRoux-Sullivan bid as a third general partner. The revamped bid, now valued at $20.5 million, was approved by the American League on May 23, 1978. Mrs. Yawkey's renewed prominence and role with the team were reflected when she was reappointed club president, with LeRoux as executive vice president and head of business operations. Sullivan became executive vice president, general manager and head of baseball operations. At one point, LeRoux and Badgett controlled an estimated 42 percent of Red Sox stock. Boston's television stations had crews in place to cover "Tony C Night."

Prior to the festivities, LeRoux called a press conference and announced that he and a majority bloc of the team's limited partners, chiefly Badgett and Albert Curran, were exercising language in their partnership agreement to overthrow Sullivan and Yawkey and take command of the club. He announced a "reorganization of internal management"

Takeover failure The two ousted general partners immediately filed suit against LeRoux, were granted an injunction, and then battled him in court over the next 12 months. The trial revealed unflattering details about all the principals: it was learned that LeRoux and his faction were in secret negotiations to buy the Cleveland Indians while still involved with the Red Sox and LeRoux's legal team heaped criticism upon the management decisions of Mrs. Yawkey and Sullivan.

In early June 1984, the legal fight ended with an appeals court ruling against LeRoux. He was removed as the team's executive vice president, administration, and his allies were purged from management. In late 1985, Jean Yawkey bought out Badgett, Curran and LeRoux's own limited partnership (which reportedly fetched $2 million). On March 30, 1987, Mrs. Yawkey acquired LeRoux's general partnership for a reported $7 million to become majority general partner in the team.

Later life Following the failed takeover attempt, LeRoux largely faded from the public eye, although from 1986 to 1989 he did own Boston's Suffolk Downs, a Thoroughbred racetrack. By the late 1980s, he had filed assets of $100 million, "including oil wells, greyhound racing dogs and antique cars." In December 1986, LeRoux began negotiations to purchase the New England Patriots, Foxboro Stadium, and a lease on Foxboro Raceway. However, due to a lack of progress on the deal, he withdraw his offer on March 17, 1987.

LeRoux died at age 77 on January 7, 2008, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.