LOS ANGELES — Fred Claire, the former sportswriter who became the Dodgers’ general manager and helped assemble their 1988 World Series championship team, died at his home Monday night, the team announced. He had turned 91 that day.
Claire spent nearly three decades with the Dodgers, joining their public relations staff in 1969 before eventually overseeing baseball operations. His tenure as general manager from 1987 to 1998 included the acquisition of Kirk Gibson and other veterans who helped deliver a championship in his second season in the role.
“The Dodgers are grieving the passing of Fred Claire, a longtime key fixture of our organization,” Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. “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’s path to the Dodgers’ front office began in journalism. A native of Jamestown, Ohio, he moved with his family to Torrance when he was 15, graduated from Torrance High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University.
He worked as a sportswriter throughout the late 1950s and 1960s. In 1969, an assignment to cover Dodgers spring training in Vero Beach, Florida, for the Long Beach Press-Telegram helped set his career on a different course. He joined the team’s public relations department that summer and rose to vice president of the department in 1975.
His eventual move into the general manager’s office placed a former reporter in charge of shaping the team he once covered. Former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley later recalled his confidence that Claire could handle the transition despite questions about his unconventional background.
“I knew some people might say, what does this guy know about baseball, he covered it from behind a typewriter?” O’Malley once told the Los Angeles Times, according to the Dodgers’ release. “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.”
The defining achievement of Claire’s tenure came in 1988. His work acquiring Gibson and other veteran players helped the Dodgers win the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, securing his place in the franchise’s championship history.
Claire is survived by his wife, Sheryl, and three children, Jeff, Jennifer and Kim. Funeral services are pending.