YANKEES’ OWNER/ICON GEORGE STEINBRENNER DIES

He was known as ‘The Boss’ and unlike Bruce Springsteen the sobriquet wasn’t a rhetorical excess taken by a fawning critic—he was the real deal.  New York Yankees owner and all around icon George Steinbrenner died Tuesday at the age of 80 following a massive heart attack.  Among many other accomplishments, he was best known for taking a floundering Yankees franchise and transforming them into one of the most dominant teams in sports—both on and off the field.

 In 37 seasons as owner, Steinbrenner’s Yankees won seven World Series championships, 11 American League pennants and 16 AL East titles.  Even more impressive was the improvement on the team’s balance sheet—Steinbrenner bought the franchise from CBS in 1973 for just under $10 million (US).  Today the Yankees are worth $1.6 billion (US) and are the second most valuable franchise in professional sports just behind English Premier League side Manchester United (valued at $1.8 billion US).  
Yankees’ great Yogi Berra gave this tribute to Steinbrenner:

"George was 'The Boss,' make no mistake. He built the Yankees into champions, and that's something nobody can ever deny. He was a very generous, caring, passionate man. George and I had our differences, but who didn't? We became great friends over the last decade and I will miss him very much."

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig added:

"He was and always will be as much of a New York Yankee as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and all of the other Yankee legends. Although we would have disagreements over the years, they never interfered with our friendship and commitment to each other. Our friendship was built on loyalty and trust and it never wavered."

Steinbrenner originally made his money in shipbuilding, and when he bought the team promised to be a ‘hands off’ owner:

"We're not going to pretend we're something we aren't. I'll stick to building ships."

Instead, Steinbrenner became the prototype for micromanaging team owners both for good and bad.  He had a huge ego and a volatile temper, but was by all accounts an extremely generous and caring man who would frequently—and anonymously--donate large sums of money to charity.  He was also very successful in thoroughbred horse racing, owning a number of stakes winners and entering six horses in the Kentucky Derby (the most recent being 2005 post time favorite Bellamy Road).  A classic Steinbrenner quote summed up his personality:

"I'm really 95 percent Mr. Rogers and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch."

He’ll be remembered as a complex man who re-built the Yankees into a dynasty and left an indelible mark on New York City and the entire sports world.  Steinbrenner’s death comes just three days after the passing of longtime Yankees’ stadium announcer Bob Sheppard.