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Joseph John Lannin (April 23, 1866 – May 15, 1928) was a Canadian-born American baseball entrepreneur. He was the sole owner of the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
for most of the 1914 through 1916 seasons, during which the team won two
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
.


Biography

Lannin was born on April 23, 1866, in
Lac-Beauport, Quebec Lac-Beauport is a town in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada, located on the eponymous Lake Beauport. It has a population of about 8,200 people, and lies about 25 kilometres north from downtown Quebec City. Lac-Beauport is the hom ...
, Canada to John Lannin and Catherine Evans. His parents were Irish immigrants. Orphaned at the age of 14, Lannin migrated from Quebec to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, where he worked as a hotel
bellboy A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform (see bell-boy hat), like certain other page boys or doormen. This o ...
. Penniless, he had remarkably made his way from Lac-Beauport to Boston on foot. He married Hannah Furlong and had two children, Paul Joseph Lannin and Dorothy A. Lannin. Although he had limited education, Lannin was personable and possessed a quick mind. He soon learned about
real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...
and the commodities market by listening to conversations of the wealthy patrons at his hotel and taking advice from those who were willing to share their insights with him. A confident and knowledgeable Lannin invested his savings in the commodities market, making a small fortune. From there he began to acquire other businesses and eventually built an empire of hotels, apartment buildings, and golf courses. On December 21, 1913, Lannin and a group of investors purchased 50% of the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
baseball team from Jimmy McAleer and Robert B. McRoy. In 1914, he became the sole owner of the Red Sox and in that same year he purchased the rights to bring
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
to Boston. The team went on to win the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
in and . Lannin sold the team in 1917 to
Harry Frazee Harry Herbert Frazee (June 29, 1880 – June 4, 1929) was an American theatrical agent, producer, and director, and owner of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923. He is well known for selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yanke ...
for $675,000. He was quoted as saying, "I am too much of a fan to be an owner." With the profit made from the sale of his team, he continued to invest in real estate ventures all around Boston and across
New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...
. Lannin acquired
Roosevelt Airfield Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...
on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
, where
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
began his historic transatlantic flight. Lannin provided Lindbergh with a room at his nearby hotel and watched the takeoff from Roosevelt Airfield on May 20, 1927. Lannin died on May 15, 1928, aged 62, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, having fallen or jumped from a window of a hotel that he owned; it was not known if he had a medical issue or died by suicide. At the time of his death, his estate was valued at $7,000,000. He is interred at the
Cemetery of the Holy Rood The Cemetery of the Holy Rood is a Catholic cemetery located in Westbury, New York. The cemetery, established in 1930, is part of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. History The oldest part of the cemetery was originally the burial ...
,
Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...
. Lannin was inducted to the
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. H ...
in 2004.


References


Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lannin, Joseph 1866 births 1928 deaths American people of Irish descent Baseball executives Boston Red Sox owners Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Businesspeople from Boston People from Capitale-Nationale People from Long Island