Director of MLB’s Public Relations, Richard Levine, retires
Richard Levine announced recently that he was retiring from his position in Major League Baseball as the Director of Public Relations. The astronomical figure at the helm of the organization was more than vibrant during his tenure at the league. He was greatly
loved by the staff and his co-workers. The sports figure will surely be missed by his peers in the years to come.
Levin started off with his career thinking that he was set out to be an attorney. His mother backed up his ambitions, with her own desire to see her son make it big. However, Richard soon figured out that studying in a law school was no more than a farce.
Upon the realization, he wasted no time in heading back to his Los Angeles home to join the army.
His real passion was basketball. He played in John Wooden’s UCLA Championships squads during the years leading up from 1964 to 1965. He spent 11 years at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, covering the Los Angeles Lakers. To emphasize on his passion, one could
look at the simple fact that the man wrote Magic Johnson’s book. Levine, however, was also a baseball man, to some extent. He proved that by spending 25 years serving for the MLB Public Relations department.
Now with his retirement is on the horizon, it seems hard to know anyone who would take the fire from Richard and lead the role with the same energy as he did. Commissioner Bud Selig was more than happy to say it out in his own words.
"Rich has played an important role in many of the decisions and innovations to the game since I became Commissioner. He's a contributor to the history of baseball."
Levine was always questioned on his ability to lead the club in the positive direction, given his basketball history. For a man whose father was a lawyer and whose mother would have liked to see her son fill in the shoes of his father, Richard had a colourful
life.
"I was the middle son of three boys and my mother hoped I would become a lawyer," he said. Truthfully, I really didn't want to go, but it seemed like the thing to do, because as soon as you left college, you were eligible for the draft. I went home at Christmas
time and never went back."
Levine’s life story will be something of an exciting trip down the memory lane for fans of the game. Now with MLB out of Levine’s vision, it’ll be interesting to see what he takes up next because something about him tells that he’s not the type to sit at
home during his retirement years.
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