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IL Worcester Red Sox

Saying Goodbye, and Thank You, to a Champion of Mentoring

August 17, 2022 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


Before the Worcester Red Sox took the field against the Durham Bulls Tuesday, August 2, 2022, all 7,000 fans at Polar Park stood and bowed their heads in silence as the club paid tribute to the most accomplished winner in the history of team sports. Two days earlier, on July 31, Bill Russell had peacefully passed away at age 88.

"It was important to help fans understand that his impact is felt every day in Worcester," said WooSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg.

But probably not in the way you're thinking. Yes, "Mr. 11 Rings" is one of the most beloved sports figures in Boston history for leading the Celtics to 11 NBA championships throughout his 13-year playing career. And of course, he advocated for civil rights as ardently as anyone. But not to be overshadowed by his other achievements is his lifelong commitment to providing mentorship opportunities for young people.

Earlier this year, on Friday, March 4, the WooSox Foundation launched its new "WooSox Mentors" program. Spearheaded by Joe Bradlee, the club's vice president of community and player relations, the program partners with the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters and Worcester Public Schools. Every week during the school year, several WooSox front office members dedicate time to mentoring a child at Gates Lane Elementary School.

Joe Bradlee, the WooSox' vice president of community and player relations, plays a game with his mentee at Gates Lane Elementary School.

"WooSox Mentors" traces back to Bill Russell.

A Botch, a Breakfast, and a Ceremonial First Pitch

In 2005, WooSox Chairman and Principal Owner Larry Lucchino was president and CEO of the Red Sox, and WooSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg was his executive vice president. They were preparing for Red Sox Opening Day 2005 against the New York Yankees. Expectations were high, and everybody knew it.

The previous October, the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years, and on Opening Day, they would receive their rings.

"We knew this would be an event that Red Sox fans would really treasure," Steinberg said. "[Former WBZ-TV sportscaster] Bob Lobel was a great source of ideas for us ever since we met him in 2002, and [during the 2004 postseason], he said, 'If this series goes to Game 6 or Game 7, you should have the greatest Celtics and greatest Patriots and greatest Bruins player come out,' as though beckoning the Red Sox into this championship group. It was a good idea, but we swept [the St. Louis Cardinals]."

However, Lobel's idea wasn't discarded. To simultaneously throw Ceremonial First Pitches on behalf of the Patriots on Opening Day, the Red Sox secured three-time Super Bowl champions Richard Seymour and Tedy Bruschi. And representing the Bruins was Bobby Orr, one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

Larry Bird, Bill Russell, and Bob Cousy were all suggested to represent the Celtics. Bird was on a scouting trip in Europe and couldn't make it to Fenway, but Steinberg's assistant in media relations, Kerri Moore, managed to track down Russell.

With Opening Day fast approaching, the normally-sunny Moore walked up to Steinberg one day with a look of horror on her face.

"I reached Bill Russell's agent, and [Russell] doesn't want [to throw a Ceremonial First Pitch] because he doesn't like the Red Sox ownership," she said.

"No, no, no," Steinberg replied, thinking it was the notoriously racist tactics associated with an earlier time in Red Sox history that drove Russell away. "Tell him there's new ownership."

"No, that's the problem," Moore said. "He doesn't like the new ownership."

On the eve of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, held at TD Garden in Boston, a member of the Red Sox front office who was unauthorized to do so offered Russell the opportunity to throw a Ceremonial First Pitch on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. But Russell hadn't been to Fenway since 1964 and said he would only consider the offer if he met the new ownership of the team.

"Look, we just need to know if you'll do it or not," the front office member snapped.

"Well, if you need to know yes or no, then my answer would be no," Russell responded.

Steinberg was mortified by what he had just learned and went straight to the office of Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner. They both knew they needed to make amends with the superstar and prove the club's genuineness. They politely persisted until Russell's agent agreed to fly his client to Boston the morning of Opening Day for breakfast with Steinberg and Werner at the old Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Steinberg broke the ice by mentioning his friend, the late, great Frank Robinson, whom he grew close to while their careers overlapped in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Robinson was Russell's classmate and basketball teammate at McClymonds High School. McClymonds is in a rough part of Oakland, CA. Nevertheless, Steinberg once visited the school to take photos of memorabilia of a young Robinson.

A smile spread across Russell's face. "You went to McClymonds High School? Who did you go with?"

When Steinberg said he went alone, Russell's smile grew even wider.

"Were you wearing a flak jacket?" he laughed.

As their food arrived, the conversation became deeper. The Red Sox executives looked Russell in his eyes and asked, "What matters to you?"

Mentoring.

Like Steinberg, David Shapiro-brother to Toronto Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro, and son to Ron Shapiro, an attorney and sports agent who is best known for having represented Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray-graduated from Gilman School in Baltimore. Steinberg knew that David headed the Mass Mentoring Partnership.

That morning at the old Ritz-Carlton Hotel, mere hours away from first pitch of Opening Day, Russell, Werner, and Steinberg mapped out a partnership between the Red Sox Foundation and Mass Mentoring, and the Red Sox Mentorship Challenge was born.

"Let's go to Fenway," Russell said. Relieved, Werner and Steinberg thanked him. "Don't thank me. Let's do stuff."

Richard Seymour, Teddy Bruschi, Bill Russell, and Bobby Orr simultaneously throw a Ceremonial First Pitch at Red Sox Opening Day 2005. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Up until his passing last month, Russell served as honorary campaign chairman of the Red Sox Mentorship Challenge, which has improved the lives of thousands of young people since 2005. Subsequently, Lucchino and Steinberg created mentorship programs in Pawtucket and Worcester, never forgetting what the incomparable Bill Russell taught them about the power of mentorship.

From Cut to Champion: How it all Began

On January 20, 2016, USA Today published a column written by Bill Russell titled "We are nothing without our mentors."

"If you ask any NBA player, executive, or coach about their path to success, on and off the court, you'll quickly see the same pattern emerge," Russell wrote. "None of us made it on our own. The truth is, that in all walks of life, mentors transform lives. Whether it's the middle school math teacher who drove you home from school every day; the uncle who busted your chops when your grades started to slip; the older student who kept you under a watchful eye; or the basketball coach who believed in you-none of us would be where we are today without the support of our mentors."

Russell is proof. As a sophomore at McClymonds in 1949, he was cut from the junior varsity basketball team. (At the time, freshmen couldn't try out.) As he hopelessly searched the roster for his name, a familiar face approached him.

"I am the varsity coach," said Russell's junior high coach, George Powles. "Wait for me after practice."

Powles took the discouraged teenager to the local Boys & Girls Club, where he bought him a membership and told him to practice basketball every day.

He did, and he got better. A lot better. Seven years after that disappointing day, the St. Louis Hawks took Russell with the second overall pick in the 1956 NBA Draft. However, Ed Macauley, a six-time All-Star center for the Boston Celtics, was who the Hawks really wanted. Executive Red Auerbach agreed to trade Macauley and Cliff Hagan to St. Louis for the young, promising Russell-often called one of the most important trades in American sports history.

From 1956 to 1969, Russell earned five MVP awards and 12 All-Star selections as a center for the Celtics. He led his team to 11 NBA championships-a record no other player in NBA history has surpassed. Less than two weeks after his passing, on August 11, the NBA announced that Russell's No. 6 jersey would become the first jersey to ever be retired across the league.

Following his playing career, Russell became a founding board member of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. Over more than three decades, MENTOR has helped create and drive support to thousands of programs mentoring millions of kids. The star hooper called it his proudest accomplishment in life.

It all started when his amateur basketball coach bought him a $2 gym membership.

Mentorship is the Gift that keeps on Giving

By the end of the WooSox' 2022 season, Larry Lucchino will have settled into his new office overlooking Madison Street. Residential construction may eventually obstruct his view, but for at least a little while, when he opens his door, he'll see the distant hillside campus of the College of the Holy Cross.

Perhaps he'll think of his longtime mentor, Edward Bennett Williams, one of the most esteemed alumni in the college's history. Lucchino met him shortly after graduating from Yale Law School and helping the House of Representatives on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which led him to Williams & Connolly, EBW's law firm in Washington, D.C.

Williams, who was president of the Washington Redskins, liked Lucchino's sports background as an all-city second baseman in high school and a member of the basketball squad at Princeton University that advanced to the Final Four in 1965. Williams pulled his mentee into sports law.

"He was not easy on Larry," Steinberg said. "Larry was an observant student of Williams's, especially how intensely and thoroughly he would prepare for cases. Let's say it's four hours before Williams goes into a trial. The papers are ready to go. No, they're not. There's four hours left. Williams taught Larry the concept of constantly editing and improving. Instead of settling for good, Larry learned from [Williams] that you can always improve."

Lucchino demonstrates this mindset as chairman of the WooSox. After a successful Inaugural Season in Worcester, during which the WooSox were among the attendance leaders in Minor League Baseball, Lucchino and Steinberg wanted to prove to fans that the club wasn't done introducing cool and new things. They created "What's Cool and New in '22," a list of improvements and additions that were made during the club's second season, from something as small as the addition of cotton candy and fried dough, to something as big as installing a massive videoboard on the Worcester Wall in right field.

Halfway through this season, in the beginning of July, the duo created a list of "second-half initiatives" based on fan feedback collected during the first half of the season.

"Ballparks are a great example [of this mindset]," Steinberg said. "Many people think that when a ballpark has its ribbon cutting, it's done. But the reality is that you're never done."

A 40-Year Partnership that began in Aruba

WooSox Chairman and Principal Owner Larry Lucchino and WooSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg have been business partners for more than 40 years.

Growing up, Steinberg's parents owned a timeshare in Aruba. In January of 1980, he and his sister joined their parents on a trip to the beautiful island to celebrate their mother's 60th birthday.

"My mom was outgoing and chatty and would befriend anyone she met," Steinberg said. "So, it wasn't surprising when I got out of the ocean one day and heard her say, 'Charles, honey, come here.' My parents had been talking to a couple visiting Aruba on a cruise ship for just one day. My mother asked, 'Do you know a man named Larry Lucchino?'"

One of the strangers extended his hand, "Hi, I'm Frank Lucchino." He was Larry's older brother.

Steinberg had already been working for the Baltimore Orioles for four years when Lucchino began his baseball career on August 2, 1979. Williams had bought the Orioles from Jerold C. Hoffberger. Lucchino was the new vice president and general counsel.

Lucchino and Steinberg have been business partners for more than four decades spread across five organizations: the Orioles, the San Diego Padres, the Red Sox, the PawSox, and now the WooSox.

"The essence is that Larry teaches by performance," Steinberg said. "You learn by observation. You watch how he does things. As Williams taught him, he's taught me that when a project seems to be finished, if you spend just a few more minutes on it, you can take it to a higher level. When you think something is done, Larry teaches you that done is not done if there's still time to improve it. And it's amazing how much more effective you can be if you come in early and stay late."

A lesson that began with Edward Bennett Williams more than six decades ago benefits WooSox fans today.

A Front Office Filled with Mentees

WooSox front office members host a discussion with young women from Girls Inc. of Worcester, a community partner.

Ballpark Design Coordinator Ben Weingarten's life trajectory was influenced by Ballpark Design Advisor Janet Marie Smith long before he met his idol-turned-mentor.

"Her work in designing Oriole Park at Camden Yards sparked my interest in ballparks and public spaces," Weingarten said. "I was inspired to visit all 30 MLB parks because of the experience I had in Baltimore in 2012. That visit to Camden Yards was the first time I fully recognized how design decisions have such a direct impact on the fan experience, from the overall aesthetics of the building to the smallest details within artwork and signage."

Like several other WooSox front office members, Weingarten was a student at Boston's Emerson College when he first met Steinberg, the school's director of sports communication. The relationship led to an internship with the PawSox. When the club announced its move to Worcester in 2018, he assisted Smith with the design, development, and construction of Polar Park.

"I'm in daily disbelief that I have the opportunity to work for such an incredible and influential woman," he said. "Having [Smith] as my mentor has obviously launched and exponentially expanded my knowledge of ballpark architecture and best design practices. But more importantly, within and through the various projects I've worked on with her, I've learned perseverance, dedication, patience, communication, organization, and passion."

Professor Libby O'Hara, who serves as director of sport marketing at Assumption University, owns a list of mentees that includes a handful of WooSox front office members, including 2022 graduate Marianna Colantuono.

"After I told Professor O'Hara my aspirations, she gave me the tips and tools to attain them," Colantuono said. "Most importantly, she told me I could either let the dream sit in my heart, or I could use the tools I have been given to actually reach for it."

During the WooSox' Inaugural Season, Colantuono was one of 12 interns selected from more than 1,000 applicants. She now leads pre-game ceremonies on the field as co-captain of the WooSox ambassadors. Her biggest mentor within the front office is Special Assistant to the President/Intern Coordinator Jackie Wilks.

"When I think of Jackie, I think of someone who has been my cheerleader since day one," Colantuono said. "What touches my heart the most is that she barely knew me [when she became my mentor]. I think a part of myself reminded her of herself, when she was a young woman fresh out of college pursuing a career in baseball. Someday, I hope to be that light to another young person, as Jackie is to me."

Bill Russell was right. None of us get to where we are without a mentor. Take it from me, someone who would have given up on a career in baseball if not for my mentor.

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