Lawrence J. Dolan (February 8, 1931 – February 23, 2025) was an American attorney who was the principal owner of the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

of the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 2000 until his death in 2025 and the founder of

SportsTime Ohio SportsTime Ohio was an American regional sports network which was last known as Bally Sports Great Lakes. At the time it left the air, the network was owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate ...

(now FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes).

Early life and education

Dolan was born on February 8, 1931, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the son of Corinne (Henson) and David Dolan, an inventor who sold a patent to the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

. He attended St. Ignatius High School and got his law degree from

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1956. He also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

Professional career

Upon leaving Notre Dame, Dolan served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

for two years, where he attained the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

. Upon leaving the Marine Corps in 1958, Dolan worked as assistant prosecutor in

Geauga County, Ohio Geauga County ( ) is a county located in the northeast portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,397. The county seat and largest city is Chardon. The county is named for an Onondaga or Seneca languag ...

, before going into private practice. He eventually became president and managing partner of Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan in

Chardon, Ohio Chardon is a city in Geauga County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,242 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.

Cleveland Guardians owner

In 2000, Dolan (through a family trust) bought the

(then Indians) of

(MLB) for $323 million from Richard E. Jacobs, who, along with his late brother David H. Jacobs, had paid $35 million for the club in 1986. Jacobs had taken the team public in 1997. As part of the deal, Dolan bought all of the stock at just over $12 a share, making the franchise privately held once again. During his time as owner, the team experienced periods of competitiveness, including playoff runs in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, and making it to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, as well as periods without success, including several seasons with over 90 losses. While the team's player salaries were among the highest in MLB during Jacobs's final years as owner, at times they have been among the lowest under Dolan. This led some fans to regard Dolan as

miser A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend money, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions. Although the word is sometimes used loosely to characterise anyone ...

ly, although other fans dispute the reputation. After the team reached the 2016 World Series, the team acquired free agents Edwin Encarnación and Boone Logan. However, both of these players were with other teams by 2019 in an attempt to reduce payroll, thus adding to both sides of the “miserly” argument between fans. In 2006, Dolan started

to broadcast the team's games; in 2012, it was sold to

Fox Entertainment Group The Fox Entertainment Group (FEG) was an American entertainment company specialized in film studio, filmed entertainment owned by 21st Century Fox. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the group's assets were dispersed to va ...

. In November 2021, the baseball team officially changed its name to the

. At the time of his death in February 2025, Dolan and his family were the longest tenured ownership group in the team's franchise history. His son Paul J., who has held ownership duties and the title of "Owner/CEO/Chairman" of the Cleveland Guardians since 2013, is also the only one of Larry J. Dolan's six children to have held major leadership roles with the team.

Personal life and death

Dolan married Eva Haas Dolan in 1957 and they went on to have six children; among them are

Matt Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

who was an Ohio

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

and is now an economic development leader in Northeast Ohio, and Paul J. who worked for his law firm and was since named as president, and later chairman, CEO, and controlling owner of the baseball team. Dolan had three brothers, including businessman Charles Dolan. His nephew James L. Dolan owns the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. Dolan died in Cleveland on February 23, 2025, at the age of 94.

Awards and honors

* Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame inductee (class of 2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Larry 1931 births 2025 deaths Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball team presidents Cablevision Cleveland Guardians owners Cleveland Indians executives Dolan family Businesspeople from Cleveland Notre Dame Law School alumni Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland) alumni United States Marine Corps officers Lawyers from Cleveland People from Cleveland Heights, Ohio People from Geauga County, Ohio Cleveland State University College of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople