FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Former Florida Marlins owner John Henry and his partners completed their record $660 million purchase of the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, ending seven decades of ownership by the Yawkey family and its trust.

	Duquette

The closing of the deal, which probably will lead to the ouster of general manager Dan Duquette, marked the end of an era that saw a downtrodden team grow into one of the premier franchises in sports but fail in its quest to win the World Series for the first time since 1918. It also closed an often contentious 16-month sale process.

"It seemed like a good baseball game," Henry said of the process. "It was always in doubt up until the end."

Yawkey era ends

BOSTON -- Fenway Park, the curse of the Bambino, the joys and burdens of a sacred New England sports trust. In the hands of the Yawkey family and trust for seven decades, now all belong to John Henry. Tom Yawkey, his wife Jean and their trustees made the Red Sox one of baseball's flagship franchises, but a franchise of futility. Twenty-eight managers, 14 Hall of Famers (including Yawkey himself) and nine general managers toiled under the Yawkey name without a World Series to show for it. All the while, it was the last major league team to integrate and often the first to disintegrate in the heat of a pennant race or, in some of sports' classic collapses, on cool October nights with the championship just out of reach. "It's a little bit sad, in a way, because we spent all of our careers in the Yawkey organization," said former Red Sox infielder and manager Johnny Pesky, who remains with the team 60 years later as an instructor. "Times have changed. So far, the new people seem like they're pretty good guys and that's good enough for me." Henry has promised a more open relationship with fans and the media, and to rebuild the team's farm system along the lines of that of the New York Yankees. The new owners must also decide what to do about Fenway Park, the majors' smallest stadium. They have said they would like to renovate rather than rebuild, but it will take them six months to decide on a new version of the "lyric little bandbox" that has the highest ticket prices in the game. Yawkey, a native of South Carolina who played baseball at Yale with more vigor than he studied, closed the deal on the Red Sox in 1933, on the day he turned 30 and gained control of his inheritance. "We are out to give the Boston fans the best break in the world," he told reporters that day, according to Red Sox Century, a history of the team. "It will not change in a day, a month, or even a season, but we are going through to the end." -- The Associated Press

Henry and incoming team president Larry Lucchino refused to outline personnel changes until after the sale was completed.

Duquette was expected to be the first to go, a move that could come this week. The Henry group has done little to dampen speculation that Duquette will be replaced, perhaps by vice president of baseball operations Mike Port on an interim bases. Reports of Duquette's dismissal earlier Wednesday, including one on ESPN.com, were premature and Duquette's fate has not yet been determined.

Duquette told ESPN's Karl Ravech on Thursday that he would be "shocked" if he was not the team's general manager this season.

Lucchino has said he doesn't anticipate wholesale changes immediately.

"Today is a day for celebration," Lucchino said. "We've been waiting a long time to celebrate. ... We'll get to work tomorrow."

"These guys, I think, are going to be hands on," former Red Sox outfielder Dwight Evans, now the hitting coach, said Wednesday. "They're going to be in the clubhouse. They're going to be in there after the game and before the game, which will be good."

The purchase also includes 80 percent of the New England Sports Network plus $40 million in assumed debt. The price more than doubled the previous record for a baseball franchise -- the $323 million paid by Larry Dolan for the Cleveland Indians in 2000.

The Red Sox announced the agreement with Henry's group on Dec. 20, but the deal was held up as losing bidders tried to restart the auction and Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly investigated whether the Jean R. Yawkey Trust, which owned 53 percent of the team, would receive fair value.

Reilly later withdrew his objections and major league baseball owners approved the deal on Jan. 16 by a vote of 29-0 with one abstention, the New York Yankees.

Henry has an agreement to sell his 1 percent of the Yankees to the New York Yankees Partnership for between $4 million and $5 million, a pair of high-ranking baseball officials familiar with the transaction said on the condition of anonymity.

Lucchino and Tom Werner, another Henry partner, also had to reach agreements to divest themselves of their interest in the San Diego Padres before the closing could take place.

Thomas Yawkey bought the Red Sox from J.A. Robert Quinn in 1933 and when Thomas Yawkey died in 1976, his wife took over.

When Jean Yawkey died, she willed all her holdings to her trust, giving John Harrington, her longtime adviser, power to run the team.

"I'm proud to have been part of the Yawkey baseball era, and I think Tom and Jean would be pleased to see their team passing on to a group with outstanding baseball experience, a passion for the game, and a commitment to our community," Harrington said in a statement.

Wednesday's sale completed an unprecedented musical chairs among baseball owners. On Feb. 16, Henry sold the Marlins for $158.5 million to Jeffrey Loria, who sold the Montreal Expos to the other 29 major league teams for $120 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.