Lou Lucier

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Lou Lucier

|position=Pitcher

|image=Lou Lucier.jpg

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1918|3|23}}

|birth_place=Northbridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

|death_date={{Death date and age|2014|10|18|1918|3|23}}

|death_place=Millbury, Massachusetts, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=April 23

|debutyear=1943

|debutteam= Boston Red Sox

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=June 13

|finalyear=1945

|finalteam= Philadelphia Phillies

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=3–5

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=3.81

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=31

|teams=

Boston Red Sox ({{Baseball year|1943}}–{{Baseball year|1944}})
Philadelphia Phillies ({{Baseball year|1944}}–{{Baseball year|1945}})

}}

Louis Joseph Lucier (March 23, 1918 – October 18, 2014) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. He is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II.

Biography

Lucier was born in 1918 in Northbridge, Massachusetts. Raised in Grafton, Massachusetts, he graduated from high school there in 1936.{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/graftonhistory/posts/917786861584025/ |title=Did you know |publisher=Grafton Historical Society |via=Facebook |date=October 19, 2014 |accessdate=December 22, 2024}} During his baseball career, he was listed at {{convert|5|ft|8|in}} and {{convert|160|lbs}}.

Lucier made his major-league debut on April 23, 1943, pitching for the Boston Red Sox in relief against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park, giving up one run and one hit in two innings of work.{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1943/B04230PHA1943.htm|title=Philadelphia Athletics 5, Boston Red Sox 0|date=April 23, 1943|work=Retrosheet.org}} His first major-league start was the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park on May 16, 1943—he was the winning pitcher in a 4–2 complete game effort.{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1943/B05162CHA1943.htm |title=Boston Red Sox 4, Chicago White Sox 2 (2)|date=May 16, 1943|work=Retrosheet.org}} After pitching for the Red Sox in 1943, Lucier split 1944 between the Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies, then pitched for the Phillies in 1945.

Career totals include 33 games pitched, 9 starts, 3 complete games, an overall 3–5 win–loss record, 1 save, and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.81. Lucier handled 45 of 46 total chances successfully for a fielding percentage of .978, which was above the league average at the time.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

From 2012 until his death in 2014, Lucier was the oldest living former Red Sox player.{{cite web|first=Stan|last=Grossfield |title=Old, faithful |url=http://archive.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2012/03/27/ex_red_sox_lou_lucier_94_still_follows_team/ | work=The Boston Globe |date=March 27, 2012 | via=boston.com}}{{cite web |title=Lou Lucier, 96, oldest living Red Sox, dies |url=http://www.telegram.com/article/20141018/NEWS/310189605 | website=telegram.com |date=March 27, 2012}}