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'''Guido Lawrence Rugo''' (1898–1984) was an American businessman from [[Boston]] who was president of a contracting company and a minority owner and vice president of the [[History of the Boston Braves|Boston Braves]] baseball team.
==Early life==
Rugo was born in [[Padua]] and raised in [[Dorchester, Boston|Dorchester]]. He graduated from [[The English High School]], where he was an All-scholastic quarterback for the city championship-winning football team as well as a member of the hockey team. At the start of [[World War I]], Rugo joined the Naval Training Unit at [[Harvard University]]. The war ended before he went into active service.<ref name="Obituary"></ref>
==Business career==
After graduating from high school in 1917, Rugo went into business with his father. In 1929 he began the Rugo Construction Co. with his brothers. The Rugos were involved in many projects in the Boston area, including the construction of schools for the City of Boston and the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston]].<ref name="Obituary" /> In 1939, Rugo was elected president of the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts.<ref></ref> During [[World War II]], the company built the [[Letterkenny Army Depot|Letterkenny Ordnance Depot]] in [[Chambersburg, Pennsylvania]] in a joint venture with the [[Tutor Perini|Perini Corporation]].<ref name="Obituary" /> In 1945, Rugo's brother Joseph left the firm. Upon his departure he demanded an accounting of an investment fund he and his two brothers owned.<ref name="Rugo" /> Rugo refused and in 1948, Joseph sued him.<ref></ref> In 1950, [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] ordered Rugo to pay his brother $140,418 for his share in the fund.<ref name="Rugo" /> In 1952, Rugo's other brother, Leonard, sued him for an accounting of a $1 million [[slush fund]] used to make payoffs to public officials in Boston, [[Chicopee, Massachusetts]], and other communities in connection with building contracts. Rugo testified to making payoffs between 1929 and 1943, but refused to name who received them.<ref></ref> Boston City Auditor Charles J. Fox cleared Rugo of wrongdoing and ordered that the Boston School Committee pay Rugo the balance owed on the construction of a school.<ref></ref>
==Boston Braves==
In 1941, Rugo was a member of a syndicate led by [[Bob Quinn (baseball)|Bob Quinn]] that purchased controlling interest in the Boston Braves (then known as the Bees) from [[Charles Adams (ice hockey)|Charles Adams]].<ref></ref> Rugo was a close friend of Quinn's son, [[John Quinn (baseball executive)|John Quinn]].<ref name="Hurwitz"></ref> In the fall of 1943, Rugo and two other minority partners, [[Lou Perini|Louis Perini]] and [[C. Joseph Maney]], issued an ultimatum to the other members of the syndicate - to buy out the trio's stock for what they paid for it or allow the three to purchase the other partners' stock for what they paid for it.<ref name="Kaese">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> The three businessmen, who were all contractors, were known as the "Three Little Steam Shovels".<ref name="Obituary" /> In 1948, the Braves won the [[National League]] pennant, but lost the [[1948 World Series|World Series]] to the [[Cleveland Indians]]. In 1951, Rugo sold his interest in the club to Perini and Maney.<ref name="Rugo"></ref>
==Personal life==
A resident of [[Milton, Massachusetts]], Rugo moved to [[Marblehead, Massachusetts]] in 1949 after he purchased "[[Carcassonne Castle|Carcassonne]]", the home of Lydia Pinkham Gove (granddaughter of [[Lydia Pinkham]]), for $50,000.<ref name="Rugo" /><ref name="Hurwitz" /> In 1972, Rugo sold "Carcassonne" to George A. Butler and returned to Boston.<ref></ref>
On January 30, 1960, Rugo collapsed at a meeting of the Clover Club in Boston, where he was a guest of former Braves publicity director [[Billy Sullivan (American football)|Billy Sullivan]]. Rugo had suffered a similar episode ten days earlier at his office.<ref></ref>
==Death==
Rugo died on November 18, 1984 at his home in [[West Roxbury, Boston|West Roxbury]]. He was survived by his wife and four sons.<ref name="Obituary" />
==References==
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:American construction businesspeople]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Boston Braves owners]]
[[Category:People from Boston]]
[[Category:People from Marblehead, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Milton, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Padua]]
==Early life==
Rugo was born in [[Padua]] and raised in [[Dorchester, Boston|Dorchester]]. He graduated from [[The English High School]], where he was an All-scholastic quarterback for the city championship-winning football team as well as a member of the hockey team. At the start of [[World War I]], Rugo joined the Naval Training Unit at [[Harvard University]]. The war ended before he went into active service.<ref name="Obituary"></ref>
==Business career==
After graduating from high school in 1917, Rugo went into business with his father. In 1929 he began the Rugo Construction Co. with his brothers. The Rugos were involved in many projects in the Boston area, including the construction of schools for the City of Boston and the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston]].<ref name="Obituary" /> In 1939, Rugo was elected president of the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts.<ref></ref> During [[World War II]], the company built the [[Letterkenny Army Depot|Letterkenny Ordnance Depot]] in [[Chambersburg, Pennsylvania]] in a joint venture with the [[Tutor Perini|Perini Corporation]].<ref name="Obituary" /> In 1945, Rugo's brother Joseph left the firm. Upon his departure he demanded an accounting of an investment fund he and his two brothers owned.<ref name="Rugo" /> Rugo refused and in 1948, Joseph sued him.<ref></ref> In 1950, [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] ordered Rugo to pay his brother $140,418 for his share in the fund.<ref name="Rugo" /> In 1952, Rugo's other brother, Leonard, sued him for an accounting of a $1 million [[slush fund]] used to make payoffs to public officials in Boston, [[Chicopee, Massachusetts]], and other communities in connection with building contracts. Rugo testified to making payoffs between 1929 and 1943, but refused to name who received them.<ref></ref> Boston City Auditor Charles J. Fox cleared Rugo of wrongdoing and ordered that the Boston School Committee pay Rugo the balance owed on the construction of a school.<ref></ref>
==Boston Braves==
In 1941, Rugo was a member of a syndicate led by [[Bob Quinn (baseball)|Bob Quinn]] that purchased controlling interest in the Boston Braves (then known as the Bees) from [[Charles Adams (ice hockey)|Charles Adams]].<ref></ref> Rugo was a close friend of Quinn's son, [[John Quinn (baseball executive)|John Quinn]].<ref name="Hurwitz"></ref> In the fall of 1943, Rugo and two other minority partners, [[Lou Perini|Louis Perini]] and [[C. Joseph Maney]], issued an ultimatum to the other members of the syndicate - to buy out the trio's stock for what they paid for it or allow the three to purchase the other partners' stock for what they paid for it.<ref name="Kaese">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> The three businessmen, who were all contractors, were known as the "Three Little Steam Shovels".<ref name="Obituary" /> In 1948, the Braves won the [[National League]] pennant, but lost the [[1948 World Series|World Series]] to the [[Cleveland Indians]]. In 1951, Rugo sold his interest in the club to Perini and Maney.<ref name="Rugo"></ref>
==Personal life==
A resident of [[Milton, Massachusetts]], Rugo moved to [[Marblehead, Massachusetts]] in 1949 after he purchased "[[Carcassonne Castle|Carcassonne]]", the home of Lydia Pinkham Gove (granddaughter of [[Lydia Pinkham]]), for $50,000.<ref name="Rugo" /><ref name="Hurwitz" /> In 1972, Rugo sold "Carcassonne" to George A. Butler and returned to Boston.<ref></ref>
On January 30, 1960, Rugo collapsed at a meeting of the Clover Club in Boston, where he was a guest of former Braves publicity director [[Billy Sullivan (American football)|Billy Sullivan]]. Rugo had suffered a similar episode ten days earlier at his office.<ref></ref>
==Death==
Rugo died on November 18, 1984 at his home in [[West Roxbury, Boston|West Roxbury]]. He was survived by his wife and four sons.<ref name="Obituary" />
==References==
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:American construction businesspeople]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Boston Braves owners]]
[[Category:People from Boston]]
[[Category:People from Marblehead, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Milton, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Padua]]
December 16, 2017 at 02:16PM
