Larry Lucchino, Ed Augustus, and Rich Gedman Inducted into WooSox Hall of Fame as the Club’s Inaugural Class

The Worcester Red Sox concluded their final homestand of the 2024 season on Sunday, September 15 with a thrilling walk-off victory over the Syracuse Mets, 4-3. Chase Meidroth’s bases loaded walk capped a four-run ninth inning and delivered the winning run for the WooSox. For Meidroth, it was his 104^th free pass of the year and added to a total that has already given him the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate’s single season record for walks.

Prior to their 2024 home finale on Sunday, the WooSox’ late Chairman and Principal Owner Larry Lucchino, long-time Hitting Coach Rich Gedman, and former Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus were inducted into the WooSox Hall of Fame as the club’s inaugural class.

Rich Gedman

Born and raised in Worcester, “Geddy” is in his tenth year as hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate and is the first in WooSox history. Before his storied baseball career, Gedman was a schoolyard kid learning English, mathematics, and history across the street from where Polar Park stands today.

Now, he’s immortalized in his hometown of Worcester.

“As a young boy who grew up in Worcester, less than a mile from here, I got the chance to live out a childhood dream and play for the Boston Red Sox,” Gedman said. “...Baseball has taken me from Crompton Park to Polar Park and many, many in between.”

A graduate of Saint Peter-Marian High School, Gedman was signed by the Red Sox in 1977 and made his Major League debut in 1980––pinch hitting for Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Over his 13-year playing career, the Sox’ backstop accumulated 88 home runs and was a two-time All-Star (1985, 1986). He spent a decade with the Red Sox organization before finishing his career with the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals.

Not only was Geddy an accomplished player, but he was a part of some memorable experiences on the diamond. Before he made his MLB debut, Gedman played alongside Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr. in the longest game in baseball history––a 33 inning marathon between the Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings. In 1986, he caught Roger Clemens’ historic 20 strikeout performance and, later that season, helped the Sox win the American League pennant.

Following his playing career, Gedman managed the Worcester Tornadoes––a Canadian-American baseball team and Worcester’s first professional club in over a century. In 2012, Geddy returned to the Red Sox organization as hitting coach for Single-A Salem before moving to Double-A Portland in 2013 and Pawtucket in 2015.

Now, with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate residing in Worcester, Geddy paid tribute to the people that love baseball as much as he does.

“Thank you to the greatest fans in all of baseball, WooSox Nation,” he said. “I am humbled and honored to be part of WooSox Hall of Fame Class of 2024.”

Ed Augustus

The second member of the inaugural WooSox Hall of Fame Class is a man who believed Worcester should be back in baseball’s vocabulary. When it became clear that the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate would need to relocate from Pawtucket, Rhode Island––their home since 1973––then Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus was instrumental in bringing the organization to the Heart of the Commonwealth.

Now serving as Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities for Massachusetts, Augustus was a graduate of St. John’s High School in Worcester before earning a master's degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University. Augustus went on to serve as chief of staff for U.S. House Rep. Jim McGovern and represented the 2^nd Worcester District in the Massachusetts State Senate.

Augustus began his tenure as Worcester city manager in 2014 and spearheaded the attempt to bring the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate to Worcester. Through perseverance and determination, Augustus and Worcester won the WooSox––and with it, a redevelopment project to revamp the Canal District.

“When people know I’m from Worcester, almost without exception they tell me what a great place Worcester is, and they talk about having visited Polar Park,” Secretary Augustus said. “It is music to my ears because that's what we always envisioned this would be.

“Yes, it’s an economic redevelopment opportunity...but more than anything else, we created a new sense of pride in the city of Worcester where people are wearing their civic pride on their sleeve. As somebody who grew up in Worcester–-born and raised in the city––I can’t think of anything better for this city to have.”

Through Augustus’ drive, Worcester has become a destination and a haven for people searching for solace in America’s pastime.

Larry Lucchino

No one understood the impact an old-fashioned ballpark could have on a community more than Larry Lucchino.

The WooSox’ late principal owner and chairman passed away on April 2––the same day as the 2024 home opener at Polar Park. Lucchino was a visionary and an architect, a man whose drive for excellence enhanced the fan experience in all sports.

“I know that Larry’s fingerprints are all over this ballpark as they are all over ballparks across the United States,” Secretary Augustus said about Lucchino. “He changed the way communities and athletics in general––not just baseball––looked at the opportunities to build athletic facilities and what they could do to transform cities and urban areas.”

Earning a law degree from Yale, Lucchino first entered the baseball industry with the Baltimore Orioles and quickly ascended to the role of president/CEO, a position he held from 1988-1993. During his time with the Orioles, Lucchino oversaw the construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards––a ballpark that resembled baseball’s timeless attributes and allowed fans to feel nostalgia’s warmth.

Lucchino later joined the San Diego Padres in 1995 as their president/CEO, leading the development of Petco Park and helping the team to the 1998 National League pennant.

After his tenure with the Padres, Lucchino partnered with John Henry’s ownership group to purchase the Boston Red Sox––an acquisition that would reshape the landscape of sports.

Because of Lucchino, Fenway Park was preserved and JetBlue Park was built.

Because of Lucchino, the Red Sox Foundation was established.

Because of Lucchino, the Jimmy Fund has continued benefiting Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s mission of compassionately supporting cancer patients.

Because of Lucchino, the Red Sox are champions again.

In 2015, the visionary moved on to his next endeavor, joining a group of local Rhode Island businessmen in purchasing the Pawtucket Red Sox. When it became evident the club could not remain in Pawtucket, he chose to bring the team to Worcester––and built the baby of his five beautiful ballparks.

“In my family, Worcester is known as the city that stole Larry Lucchino's heart,” said Larry’s nephew, David Lucchino. “...When he said he wanted to build a ballpark that tastes, smells, and embodies Worcester, he truly meant that. Ballparks are a place of communal interest and should represent the best [of it] and bring together all members of the community to enjoy time and time again.”

With his WooSox Hall of Fame stanchion mounted in a flowerbed on the newly named Lucchino Lane, the late baseball great is forever cemented in the Heart of the Commonwealth––the city that stole his heart.

Fittingly, the exact spot where Lucchino’s stanchion sits is where Polar Park’s groundbreaking occurred on July 11, 2019.

"This park, and this city, brought him extraordinary joy,” WooSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg said during his mentor’s induction. “Polar Park and Worcester provided him with an immediate loving embrace. It was the first time in his Hall of Fame career that he was warmly thanked in real time.”

Lucchino left behind a legacy that has established him as an all-time baseball mind dedicated to fostering community growth. His fingerprints laid the foundation for dozens of new ballparks––with the fan experience coming first and foremost.

Now, Lucchino, Augustus, and Gedman are permanently enshrined at Polar Park.