On Tuesday it was announced that long-time PawSox executive Lou Schwechheimer had passed away due to complications from COVID-19 at 62-years-old. Schwechheimer spent 37-years with the PawSox before becoming an owner of both a Single-A team and a Triple-A team.
For his time with the PawSox, he was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2019 and was a two-time International League executive of the year. When Schwechheimer ended his time with the PawSox he was the General Manager of the Pawtucket based team.
Schwechheimer served as Pawtucket’s vice president and general manager from 1986-2015 and was hired as an intern back in 1978. Back in the 1990s, he was a driving force in the upgrades that occurred at McCoy Stadium to bring the ballpark into the modern era and essentially save the franchise. During his tenure, the PawSox went on to win three Governors Cups and the ballclub was named the best Triple-A organization by Baseball America twice.
This is the saddest of news,” said PawSox Vice Chairman Mike Tamburro. “I feel like the PawSox helped raise him. He was more at home at McCoy Stadium than in his own home. He was here morning, noon, and night, and there were nights when he even slept here. Every member of our business community, and tens of thousands of fans, knew him by name. He had remarkable interpersonal skills. I too extend my deepest sympathies to his family.”
Many might already know the story but when he was hired as an intern out of UMass Amherst he slept on cots in-between players lockers in the clubhouse. Over the years Schwechheimer worked his way up the ranks of the organization making stops in the public relations office along the way to the top. Public relations was where he was during the 32-inning game in which hundreds of media members showed up due to the fact that major league baseball was on strike at the time.
Eventually Schwechheimer became a minority owner in the PawSox but sold he stake in the ballclub when he left shortly after the new ownership group came into town.
