Former Dodgers executive Fred Claire, who rose from the ranks of the team’s public relations department to become a World Series-winning general manager, has died on his 91st birthday, the team announced Tuesday.
Claire died at his home Monday night, the Dodgers said. No cause of death was provided.
“The Dodgers are grieving the passing of Fred Claire, a longtime key fixture of our organization,” Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten said. “Fred brought many victories and Dodger legends to our franchise, as well as a 1988 World Series title, and we are forever grateful for his leadership during such a memorable era. Our hearts go out to his wife Sheryl and his family.”
Claire was born in Jamestown, Ohio, but his family moved to Torrance when he was 15 years old. He graduated from Torrance High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University.
A sportswriter throughout the late 1950s and ’60s, Claire first became involved with the Dodgers in 1969 when he was assigned to cover spring training in Vero Beach, Florida for the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He joined the Dodgers’ public relations team that summer and worked his way up, becoming vice president of the department in 1975.
Claire became the Dodgers general manager in 1987 after General Manager Al Campanis was fired for making comments on ABC’s “Nightline” during a discussion surrounding the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball’s color line.
Claire was instrumental in acquiring Kirk Gibson and other veteran players in the 1988 offseason, leading to the Dodgers winning the 1988 World Series in a major upset against the Oakland Athletics in his second year as general manager.
“I knew some people might say, what does this guy know about baseball, he covered it from behind a typewriter?” former Dodger owner Peter O’Malley once told the Los Angeles Times. “But I knew Fred could take it. I knew he could do it. And he did it. He deserves a lot of credit for stepping in quickly, without any advance notice, and doing a great job.”
Not all of Claire’s acquisitions panned out. High-priced stars such as Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis fizzled in the early 1990s. In 1994, Claire made what many consider to be one of the worst trades in baseball history when he sent a young Pedro Martínez to the Montreal Expos for infielder Delino DeShields. Martínez became a Hall of Fame pitcher.
Claire was relieved of his GM duties during the 1998 season, a year after Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Group purchased the team.
He is survived by his wife Sheryl and three children, Jeff, Jennifer and Kim. Funeral services are pending.