Ralph Jr. Crowley

In February, WBJ asked the 400+ people who have ever been on a WBJ power list (Power 100, Power 50, Power Players) to vote for the professionals they believed are the most influential in the region. Nearly 600 votes were cast

The Power 100 edition is an annual report on how power is shared and expended in Central Massachusetts each year, as told through the 100 people who are most effectively wielding their influence, with a special focus on those creating change and bringing new ideas to the forefront.

Tracking Central Massachusetts tourist locations’ decisions and challenges – and how they handled them over the last three decades – is an exercise in business strategy. How do you get people to keep coming to your attraction?

As leaders, they ably represented two of Central Massachusetts’ longest-running institutions: each intricately tied to Isaiah Thomas. One turned his bequeathed library into the world’s preeminent repository of pre-20th-century print materials in what is now the United States. The other invoked the patriot printer’s name for its annual award to citizens who serve Worcester with distinction.

How do you whittle 35 years of headlining business news down to a couple thousand words and a few pages? You don't. But here, we take our best shot to highlight the companies, individuals, and moments that left a lasting impression.

You can define success in myriad ways: holding your ground; uncompromising ambition; the relentless pursuit of excellence; steady as she goes; staying a step ahead. The one thing shared in common by the most-heralded and well-run companies Worcester Business Journal has chronicled over 35 years is a bit of all these things.

WBJ sat down with Crowley in December to discuss how he got involved with the Worcester Red Sox, what the negotiations with Diamond were like, and what the transaction means for the team’s future in the city. 

The team has declined to give a purchase price on the sale to Diamond Baseball Holdings, but at the request of WBJ, a Holy Cross professor has estimated the team's valuation based on revenues, market size, and the new stadium.

Diamond Baseball Holdings, a corporation that owns more than 20 minor league baseball teams across the United States, has reached an agreement to purchase the Worcester Red Sox, according to reporting by the Boston Globe

Trivia question: What is the name of the Worcester beverage manufacturer owned by the Crowley family?