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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.
With the backing of Rogers Badgett, a Kentucky-based coal magnate, "Buddy LeRoux Heads BoSox Coup," The Associated Press, 1983-06-07 LeRoux put together a 30-share 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.
In 1983, the Red Sox suffered their first losing season since 1966, and the rift among the ownership factions became public. On June 6, prior to a Monday night home game against the Detroit Tigers, the Red Sox planned a special benefit for stricken former star outfielder Tony Conigliaro, who had been incapacitated at age 37 by a heart attack in January 1982. Conigliaro's old teammates from the 1967 "Impossible Dream" Red Sox assembled for a pre-game ceremony, and a crowd of nearly 24,000 gathered, one of the largest gates at Fenway Park since Opening Day. "The 1983 Boston Red Sox Regular Season Game Log", Retrosheet 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" and appointed himself managing general partner, while bringing in former Red Sox general manager Dick O'Connell to replace Sullivan as head of baseball operations. Boston media immediately dubbed the gambit the "Coup LeRoux."
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.
LeRoux died at age 77 on January 7, 2008, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. He was survived by his wife and three children.
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Categories: 1930 Births, 2008 Deaths, Boston Bruins Personnel, Boston Celtics Personnel, Boston Red Sox Executives, Boston Red Sox Owners, Businesspeople From Massachusetts, Major League Baseball Owners, Major League Baseball Trainers, National Hockey League Trainers, Nba Trainers, Northeastern University Alumni, People From Woburn, Massachusetts, Suffolk Downs Executives, United States Marines, Woburn Memorial High School Alumni
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