Lou Gorman

James G. Gorman
(Lou)

• School Stonehill College, Bridgewater State College
• High School La Salle Academy (Providence)

• Born February 18, 1929 in South Providence, RI USA
• Died April 1, 2011 in Boston, MA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Lou Gorman was the assistant farm director for the Baltimore Orioles in 1964-1965 and farm director in 1966-1967. He moved to the expansion Kansas City Royals as farm director in 1969 and director of player development from 1970 to 1976.

Gorman was General Manager of the expansion Seattle Mariners from 1977 to 1980 and assistant GM of the New York Mets from 1981 to 1984. He was GM of the Boston Red Sox from 1984 to 1993. He was architect of the team that came within one strike of winning the 1986 World Series; he orchestrated trades that brought in key performers Bill Buckner, Calvin Schiraldi, Dave Henderson and Spike Owen in the two years that preceded the World Series appearance. He was replaced by Dan Duquette but continued as assistant GM from 1994 to 1996.

He then served as a vice president of the Baseball Assistance Team and as an executive consultant with the Red Sox, with a focus on community affairs. He was named to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002 and was the institution's coordinator. He passed away on April 1, 2011 after a year-long illness.

Gorman had briefly played for the Providence Grays of the New England League in 1948, hitting .036 in 16 games. He then returned to school to complete bachelor's and master's degrees, then served eight years in the US Navy at the time of the Korean War. He remained a member of the US Navy reserve for 26 years after that, while working in baseball. His first job on his return to the game was as a general manager in the minor league system of the San Francisco Giants, beginning in 1961.

Preceded by N/A

Seattle Mariners General Manager 1977-1980

Succeeded by Dan O'Brien, Sr.

Preceded by Haywood Sullivan

Boston Red Sox General Manager 1984-1993

Succeeded by Dan Duquette

Record as a General Manager

Draft Picks

Expansion Draft

1st Round - Mariners

• 1977: 26th overall OF Dave Henderson - Dos Palos High School
• 1978: 6th overall OF Tito Nanni - Chestnut Hill Academy High School
• 1979: 1st overall OF Al Chambers - John Harris High School
• 1980: 6th overall SS Darnell Coles - Eisenhower High School (Rialto)

Other Notable Selections - Mariners

• 1979: 4th round (79th overall) 3B Jim Presley - Escambia High School
• 1979: 17th round (417th overall) P Bud Black - San Diego State University
• 1980: 2nd round (32nd overall) P Matt Young - UCLA
• 1980: 1st round (2nd overall) 2B Harold Reynolds - Canada College Secondary Phase

1st Round - Red Sox

• 1984: 14th overall C John Marzano - Temple University
• 1985: 21st overall P Dan Gabriele - Walled Lake Western High School
• 1986: 14th overall OF Greg McMurtry - Brockton High School
• 1987: 26th overall P Reggie Harris - Waynesboro (VA) High School
• 1987: 32nd overall OF Bob Zupcic - Oral Roberts University
• 1988: 12th overall P Tom Fischer - University of Wisconsin
• 1989: 16th overall OF Greg Blosser - Sarasota High School
• 1989: 23rd overall 1B Mo Vaughn - Seton Hall University
• 1989: 29th overall P Kevin Morton - Seton Hall University
• 1990: No Pick (lost for signing Tony Pena)
• 1991: 23rd overall P Aaron Sele - Washington State University
• 1991: 37th overall OF J.J. Johnson - Pine Plains High School
• 1991: 43rd overall OF Scott Hatteberg - Washington State University
• 1992: No Pick (lost for signing Frank Viola)
• 1993: 7th overall OF Trot Nixon - New Hanover High School

Other Notable Selections - Red Sox

• 1984: 8th round (198th overall) SS Jody Reed - Florida State University
• 1984: 20th round (510th overall) P Jack McDowell - Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks) Did Not Sign
• 1985: 3rd round (75th overall) 1B Tino Martinez - Jefferson High School (Tampa, FL) Did Not Sign
• 1985: 10th round (257th overall) OF Brady Anderson - University of California, Irvine
• 1987: 11th round (292nd overall) 3B Phil Plantier - Poway High School
• 1988: 5th round (121st overall) SS John Valentin - Seton Hall University
• 1989: 4th round (110th overall) 3B Jeff Bagwell - University of Hartford
• 1993: 2nd round (49th overall) P Jeff Suppan - Crespi High School

Significant Trades

Mariners

• December 7, 1976 traded Grant Jackson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Craig Reynolds and Jimmy Sexton
• July 27, 1977 traded Dave Pagan to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Rick Honeycutt
• December 9, 1977 traded Dave Collins to the Cincinnati Reds for Shane Rawley
• December 8, 1978 traded Craig Reynolds to the Houston Astros for Floyd Bannister
• November 1, 1979 traded Ruppert Jones and Jim Lewis to the New York Yankees for Jim Beattie, Rick Anderson, Jerry Narron and Juan Beniquez

Red Sox

• May 25, 1984 traded Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Buckner
• November 13, 1985 traded Bob Ojeda, Tom McCarthy, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer to the New York Mets for Wes Gardner, Calvin Schiraldi, John Christensen and La Schelle Tarver
• March 28, 1986 traded Mike Easler to the New York Yankees for Don Baylor
• June 29, 1986 traded Steve Lyons to the Chicago White Sox for Tom Seaver
• August 19, 1986 traded John Christensen, Mike Trujillo, Mike Brown and Rey Quinones to the Seattle Mariners for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• December 8, 1987 traded Al Nipper and Calvin Schiraldi to the Chicago Cubs for Lee Smith
• July 29, 1988 traded Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Boddicker
• December 13, 1988 traded Todd Benzinger, Jeff Sellers and Luis Vasquez to the Cincinnati Reds for Nick Esasky and Rob Murphy
• May 4, 1990 traded Lee Smith to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Brunansky
• August 30, 1990 traded Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for Larry Andersen
• July 9, 1992 traded Tom Bolton to the Cincinnati Reds for Billy Hatcher
• August 30, 1992 traded Jeff Reardon to the Atlanta Braves for Nate Minchey and Sean Ross

Significant Signings

Mariners

• December 20, 1977 signed Bruce Bochte as a free agent from California Angels
• May 31, 1978 signed Tom Paciorek as a free agent from Atlanta Braves
• January 27, 1979 signed Willie Horton as a free agent from Detroit Tigers
• July 30, 1979 signed Ivan Calderon as a amateur free agent

Red Sox

• November 27, 1989 signed Tony Pena as a free agent from St. Louis Cardinals
• December 6, 1989 signed Jeff Reardon as a free agent from Minnesota Twins
• December 15, 1990 signed Jack Clark as a free agent from New York Yankees
• December 19, 1990 signed Danny Darwin as a free agent from Houston Astros
• January 2, 1992 signed Frank Viola as a free agent from New York Mets
• December 9, 1992 signed Andre Dawson as a free agent from Chicago Cubs

Further Reading

• Lou Gorman: High and Inside: My Life in the Front Offices of Baseball, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7864-3163-2
• Dan Levitt: "Lou Gorman", in Bill Nowlin and Leslie Heaphy, ed.: The 1986 Boston Red Sox: There Was More Than Game 6, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2016. pp. 250-257. ISBN 978-1-943816-19-4

Related Sites

• Lou Gorman at the SABR Bio Project
• Obituary