Lorinda de Roulet, Who Briefly Led the New York Mets, Dies at 95

Sports|Lorinda de Roulet, Who Briefly Led the New York Mets, Dies at 95

Lorinda de Roulet, who briefly ran the New York Mets in the late 1970s after the death of her mother, Joan Whitney Payson, the team’s first owner, and before the team was sold to the book publisher Doubleday & Company and the real estate developer Fred Wilpon, died on Oct. 26 at her home in Manhasset, N.Y. She was 95.

Her daughter Whitney Bullock confirmed the death.

Mrs. de Roulet became the team’s president, elected by its board, after her mother’s death in 1975. Three years later, she was elevated to chairwoman, after the board ousted M. Donald Grant in late 1978.

Mr. Grant, a stockbroker, was known for his protracted salary dispute with Tom Seaver, the team’s star pitcher, which led to Seaver’s trade to the Cincinnati Reds in June 1977, widely considered the lowest point in Mets team history.

“It never occurred to me that I’d wind up running the team,” Mrs. de Roulet told The New York Times a few days after taking over as chairwoman. “I guess I thought mother would keep running things, and my husband was interested, too.”