Overview
- Fred Claire died on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, his 91st birthday, a fact first shared publicly by former Dodgers broadcaster Ross Porter and reported by multiple outlets.
- Claire ran the Dodgers’ front office from 1987 to 1998 and is credited with the offseason moves and the Kirk Gibson signing that helped the club win the 1988 World Series and earned him Sporting News executive of the year honors.
- His record included notable successes and mistakes, most famously trading young pitcher Pedro Martínez to Montreal for Delino DeShields, a deal widely judged one-sided in hindsight.
- Claire was fired on June 21, 1998, after Fox’s ownership change and the Mike Piazza trade sidelined him from the team’s decision making, and he spent later years as a columnist, instructor and consultant.
- After a long battle with squamous cell carcinoma that required surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, an immunotherapy trial and major facial reconstruction at City of Hope, Claire co-wrote a book about his journey and donated proceeds and funds to cancer research.