Scrapbook
Articles
Memories of
Lorinda de Roulet

Lorinda de Roulet
de
Lorinda de Roulet


Lorinda de Roulet was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on January 28, 2011, and April 4, 2020.

Non-playing roles with Mets
  • President 1976 - 1979
  • Chairman of the Board 1979

Daughter of Joan Payson

Share your memories of Lorinda de Roulet

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

original mets
May 6, 2005
 A nice lady who liked to collect the foul balls so she could recycle the used baseballs.

Lifelong Fan
July 10, 2005
 I always thought this woman used the Mets as a tax write-off and had no commitment to winning, unlike Joan Payson.

Pierce Brockman
July 16, 2005
 Lorinda de Roulet and her family are loyal Mets supporters. They can often be seen in the reserved box at the game, and follow the team closely. She and her family support the Mets whole-heartedly and love the players, the fans and the team. It is unlikely that she used the team as a tax write off, since her own mother started the Mets and she can remember the original days vividly. The Mets are as much a part of her family as they were for her own mother, Joan Whitney Payson.

JFK
August 5, 2005
 This statement sums up her reign as owner: She asked if the fans can be forced to return foul balls so the Mets wouldn't have to spend money on baseballs. After that it was clear that she was not going to pay Tom Seaver and Kingman their fair value. A complete embarassment as an owner.

Hank M
November 15, 2005
 Let's give this lady some credit. She had enough common sense to realize that her family could no longer run the Mets. The team was something that was really her mother's, not her own. With Joan Payson living no longer, there was no real stability in the front office.

The team's decline after Mrs. Payson's death was not Lorinda's fault. It's just something that happened. Her only real mistake was giving more responsibility to that fool, M. Donald Grant, who refused to adjust to changing times. Seeing how things were going, she saw that it was time to go.

Selling the team was the right thing to do. It was a very wise decision. The group to whom she sold the team brought winning baseball back to Queens.

Lorinda DeRoulet should be thought of as a woman of intelligence, courage and very good insight.

Joe Figliola
November 17, 2005
 Sorry, but I have to clarify a story concerning Lorinda DeRoulet and the recycling of the foul balls.

According to the Jack Lang book about the Mets that was published in 1986, it was her DAUGHTER Bebe DeRoulet who suggested to get the foul balls from the stands and recycle them. In fact, according to Mr. Lang, Bebe also thought that could "wash" the baseballs before reusing them.

If I recall, the Lang book didn't go off on Lorinda DeRoulet as much as her daughter Bebe. When the Mets had the mule as a mascot, the book mentions that Bebe would ride around in a chariot (a la Ben Hur) in the outfield, and the few fans that were there thought the sight was just plain stupid.

Regarding Lorinda DeRoulet, I thought she would be the type of owner similar to the woman who ran the St. Louis Cardinals back in the early 1900s. I can't recall her name, but she did everything she could to try and make the Redbirds a winner. Mrs. DeRoulet, to some credit, did sign some of the mainstays to long-term deals (i.e., John Stearns), but the team needed so much more.

Bob Inzerillo
December 1, 2005
 Probably a nice lady, but had absolutely no business running a T-ball team, let alone a major league baseball team. She had inherited the team and eventually took control away from M. Donald Grant in as chairman of the board in 1978 or 79. One winter, I remember the Angels wanted to trade for Craig Swan, and even offered the Mets a young shortstop named Dickie Thon. Thon was one of the most coveted young players coming up, and the Angels GM figured just mentioning him would get the deal done. But to his surprise, DeRoulet knew nothing of Thon. Told he was very young and had a great future and could be the Mets shortstop for many years, she only asked how old Thon was. The puzzled GM told her Thon was 19. DeRoulet said, no he's too young. The GM came back with, "I have some old washed up players if you prefer."

DeRoulet's greatest contribution to Mets history was "Mettle the Mule". The Mets were horrible and the stands were empty every game. To get the fans back in the park, they put a mule out near the Mets bullpen in right field to be their mascot. Who needs good players when you've got a mule! With a straw hat, no less! They even had a contest to name the mule, and the response was overwhelming, as the number of contestants soared into the dozens! Understanding how critical this decision would be, DeRoulet's staff sifted through the suggestions, and the winner was "Mettle". How clever... "MET-tle". Big announcement, press conference. Print up the playoff tickets! I think the contestant who submitted the winning name even got a free mule-ride around the field as a prize!

scott rogers
January 6, 2008
 The one thing about her that I remember reading about was when Seaver was having all the problems with Grant he went over his head and actually made a contract agreement with her but it wasn't signed yet cause the next day the article that Dick Young wrote that got Seaver so angry came out. After he read it he called the Mets GM and said tell her to forget everything I said and get me outta here.

John Q.
July 13, 2010
 The De Roulet sisters were owners of the Mets at the worst possible time, "The Dawn of Free Agency". They had the ability to use the New York Market to procure free- agents, instead the De Roulet family refused to do anything. And in the process, they made the Mets one of the worst teams in baseball and lost a generation of NY fans to the Yankees.

It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Joan Payson had lived 5 or 6 more years and was the Mets owner in the early days of free agency.

bebe
November 28, 2014
 The re-use the baseballs story is a total fabrication. As proof - it doesn't jibe with knowing the details of umpires prepping the game balls. And tell the "new" owners the "Lady Mets" were a fan club, not a demeaning stereotype.

Hot Foot
May 17, 2023
 During a Mets broadcast last year, Howie Rose said that in the late '70s (probably after the 1978 season), the Angels offered Dickie Thon and Willie Aikens to the Mets for Craig Swan, and Joe McDonald made the trade, but Lorinda deRoulet vetoed it. Too bad, because it would have been a great trade. Actually, ultimateMets.com poster Bob Inzerillo detailed the story regarding this trade in his post on Lorinda from December 1, 2005, but I heard about it from Howie.

About Mrs. deRoulet's daughter Whitney, there's a funny anecdote in the Andy Warhol Diaries where sometime in the late '70's, Andy is hanging out with Whitney at some society event or some place where they have to wait to get into some VIP room and Whitney starts saying, "I own the Mets! I own the Mets!" and Andy thought it was funny and told the diary about it.

Also, Bob's post from 2005 reminded me about Mettle the Mule. Mettle could have been a good idea if it was a pinata filled with candy that underprivileged children could destroy after every game, not a real mule that sh*t on the field. 

Sorry, but that is exactly what the Mets were doing, so... wait... Mettle was actually perfect for the 1979 Mets.








Meet the Mets
  • All-Time Roster
  • Mug Shots
  • Player Awards
  • Transactions
  • Managers and Coaches
  • Mets Staff
  • Birthplaces
  • Oldest Living Mets
  • Necrology
    • Games
  • Game Results
  • Walkoff Wins and Losses
  • Post-Season Games
  • No-Hitters and One-Hitters
  • All-Star Games
  • Opponents and Ballparks
  • Daily Standings
  • Yearly Finishes
  • Mayor's Trophy Games
    • Stats
  • Interactive Statistics
  • Team Leaders
  • Decade Leaders
    • Metscellaneous
  • Fan Memories
  • Mets Uniforms
  • Uniform Numbers
    • About Us
  • Contact us
  • FAQ



    • Copyright 1999-2024, The Ultimate Mets Database