Beloved Former Paw Sox Executive Lou Schwechheimer Dies at 62 of Coronavirus

Beloved Former Paw Sox Executive Lou Schwechheimer Dies at 62 of Coronavirus

Lou Schwechheimer, who spent 35 years with the Pawtucket Red Sox, has died from an illness related to the coronavirus. He was 62.

As part of the PawSox leadership with Ben Mondor and Mike Tamburro, Schwechheimer helped create one of the most successful minor league sports teams in history.

After the PawSox were sold by the Mondor family, he left and was instrumental in moving the Marlins Triple-A affiliate to Wichita, Kansas and building the Wind Surge’s Riverfront Stadium. Schweichheimer died Wednesday from complications related to the novel coronavirus. He was 62.

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According to Baseball America, he created ownership group and bought the Rays’ high Class A affiliate— the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League—and the Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes of the Pacific Coast League. “The Baby Cakes moved to Wichita and changed their name to the Wind Surge before the 2020 season, but the team never took the field due to the coronavirus pandemic that canceled the minor league season,” wrote Baseball America.

As an executive for Pawtucket, Schwechheimer twice won the International League’s executive of the year award and was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2019.

“There are no words to express the loss of the entire Wind Surge family,” said Jared Forma, senior vice president and general manager for the Wind Surge, in a statement. “Lou was truly one of a kind, someone who never met a stranger. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends, which included an extended baseball family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lou’s wife and daughter at this difficult time.”