Wilfred ’Lefty’ Lefebvre, left, and Joe Pullano, were photographed before the Providence Chiefs took on the Pawtucket Slaters at Cranston Stadium. Both had previously played for the Slaters.

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PAWTUCKET — Rhode Island has deep roots in the world of professional baseball, and both recently lost one of their patriarchs.

Wilfred “Lefty” LeFebvre died earlier this month at his home in Florida. He was 91. As a child growing up in Pawtucket, he was a standout pitcher for the former Pawtucket High School (Tolman) and Holy Cross College before he embarked on a professional career, first with the Boston Red Sox and later with the old Washington Senators.

After serving in World War II, he retired from playing and began a coaching career at Brown University. Following 15 years in the Bears’ dugout, he served as an area scout for the Red Sox for 28 years.

McCoy Stadium was one of his usual stops to scout young talent, and he became close friends with Pawtucket Red Sox owner Ben Mondor and team president Mike Tamburro.

“Lefty was a terrific guy,” said Tamburro. “He was an outstanding human being, who had tremendous care for anybody he came across. In the early years he was a voice of encouragement for Ben and I. He was [at McCoy Stadium] an awful lot and we got to know Lefty real well. We enjoyed his company.

“But what stands out most about Lefty and his life is the dedication to his [handicapped] son. Anyone who came in contact with him admired that relationship; it was an absolute special one. Lefty is a special guy and he’s going to be missed by everybody.”

LeFebvre made his major-league debut with the Red Sox on June 10, 1938, at Fenway Park against the Chicago White Sox. He was 22 and sitting in the dugout when Red Sox manager Joe Cronin gave him the heads-up to grab a bat. Nervous and unsure of himself, LeFebvre stepped into the batter’s box and on the first offering from White Sox pitcher Monte Stratton, he hit a home run to the opposite field, over the Green Monster. Only a day earlier, he had graduated from Holy Cross.

During the 1938 season, he toed the rubber only once and allowed two home runs and six runs on eight hits in four innings of work for the Red Sox.

LeFebvre returned for the 1939 season and posted a 1-1 record in five games (three starts) for Boston. At the plate he went 3-for-10 that year with one RBI and three runs scored.

“He was a hell of a guy,” said Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky, who played in the minors with LeFebvre. “He was a great guy to have on the ballclub. I feel bad. He pulled for everybody and was a great person. He was one of my favorites and always very enthusiastic.”

LeFebvre followed his brief stint in Boston with a trip around the minors and played for affiliates in Minneapolis, Minn. — where he was a teammate of Ted Williams — Louisville, Ky., and San Francisco.

In an interview with the late Providence Journal columnist Bill Parrillo in May 1999, LeFebvre said he was impressed with Williams at first glance.

“Boy, could he hit,” LeFebvre told Parrillo. “He had a great swing. I think he hit 35 home runs and drove in 140 runs that year. He was a cocky sonofagun, too, but you didn’t have to know much about baseball to know he was going to be a star in the big leagues.”

LeFebvre was traded to the old Washington Senators and the southpaw hurler pitched two full seasons (1943 and ’44) and posted a 4-4 record. At the plate with the Senators, he went 20-for-76 with 9 RBI, 5 doubles and 2 triples in 67 games.

He went into the service and played ball like many other major-leaguers did back then. Because he was a reliable pitcher, he threw a lot and blew out his arm. Following his return from World War II, he had a dead arm and couldn’t return to competitive baseball. But his career in the game was nowhere near over.

He returned to Rhode Island and coached at Brown University for 15 years (1949-1964) where he recorded a 114-131-6 mark, and won the Ivy League championship in 1952. He was inducted into the Brown Hall of Fame in 1999.

“He was a great baseball man,” said Jeremy Kapstein, a Rhode Island native and senior advisor for the Boston Red Sox. “He is a Rhode Island legend and had a huge impact on those that he coached. I have a lot of respect for him.”

After moving to Florida, LeFebvrewould occasionally return home and visit Fenway Park. He would stand around the batting cage talking with players, managers and coaches.

“When he wasn’t around,” said Pesky, “you missed him.”

jmcdonal@projo.com