PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A former championship-winning owner and president of the Phillies has died. Ruly Carpenter was 81.
Carpenter's grandfather purchased the Phillies in the early '40s, when the boy was 3. He started working for the club in 1963 and took over for his father, Bob, as president in 1972 at the age of 32.
With an emphasis on player development, he ushered the team into one of its most successful eras, winning four Eastern Division titles and the 1980 World Series. That October night in 1980 in the bowels of The Vet, Carpenter told NBC he hoped Philly wouldn't have to wait another 96 years for another world championship.
Legendary Phillies player, manager and coach Larry Bowa said he was was happy they could win at least one championship for the Carpenters after coming up short in previous seasons.
"It was great to see the happiness that we put on on his face at that time," he said.
Bowa described Carpenter as someone who treated everyone equally, who was down to earth, honest and giving.
"Whether you were the greatest player on the team, the worst player on the team — whether you worked in the front office, whether you worked in concessions — he treated everybody the same. He was a man's man. Any problems you had, you could go up there and talk to him. Didn't have to relate to baseball. He was just a special guy," Bowa said.
"And he felt to us like he was, we were all family. That's how he treated everybody. But on the other side of that coin, he was very, he was an honest person. He didn't tell you what you wanted to hear. If you had questions about the way you were playing or questions about life in general, he will tell you exactly how he felt about everything."
Carpenter sold the team in 1981 with player salaries set to go up across the board. According to comments he gave to the Delaware News Journal in 2013, he didn't think a single-family ownership could operate with the direction the business of the game was going, but he remained a fan through the rest of his life.
Bowa said Carpenter would keep in touch with everyone in the organization. He said he had just seen Carpenter at Alumni Weekend in August — looking healthy — so the news of his death came as a shock.
"I'm shocked by what happened, and hopefully there's baseball up in heaven and Ruly can get back involved, because he was a tremendous baseball man."
On Tuesday, the Phillies released a statement, remembering his leadership from 1972-1981.
"Ruly Carpenter was a consummate professional sports team owner," said Phillies Managing Partner John Middleton (via MLB.com). "A third-generation local businessman, he believed in developing not just your players from within, but also your front office.
"Ruly was the driving force in promoting both Paul Owens and Dallas Green, and collectively, the three oversaw one of the greatest eras in Phillies history. They built a team anchored by the greatest player and pitcher in Phillies history, Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, that won four NL East division titles and Philadelphia's first World Series championship in 1980.
"Ruly's influence has been and will continue to be felt for decades in the Delaware Valley. On behalf of the Buck and Middleton families, I extend my deepest condolences to the Carpenters."
A number of Phillies greats, including former Phils left fielder Greg Luzinski, and Ruben Amaro Jr, whose father worked for Ruly, and longtime members of the media took to Twitter to share their stories and memories of the charismatic executive.
Carpenter also had a profound impact on the University of Delaware, serving on the board of trustees and chairing the committee on student life and athletics.
"Ruly was always supportive of everything we did," former UD athletic director Edgar Johnson told Delaware Online's Kevin Tresolini. "He was supportive intellectually with his ideas. He was supportive with his money, as was the entire Carpenter family.
"The thing that I think made Ruly special is that he was always here. He came to football games. He came to basketball games. I enjoyed baseball games, getting to sit with him and talk Delaware baseball, Phillies baseball, Kansas City baseball, anything. He had so many stories."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
