Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, whose immense drive and deep pockets revived baseball’s most storied team and built a sports empire, died on July 13, his family said.
“It is with profound sadness that the family of George Steinbrenner III announces his passing,” the family said in a statement released by the club. “He passed away this morning in Tampa, Florida, at age 80.”
Nicknamed “The Boss”, Steinbrenner was one of the most powerful and wealthy figures in US sports. He had owned the famed New York team since 1973, enjoying seven World Series championships, including last year.
“He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again,” Steinbrenner’s family said.
While Steinbrenner became synonymous with the Yankees, he had other sports interests. A former gridiron coach, he served as a vice-president of the US Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1996 and entered six horses in the Kentucky Derby — none of them winners.
A hands-on owner who was for years the face of the Yankees, he was famous for his outspoken style, free spending and a will that drove the team to become the best and richest in the world.
Steinbrenner headed the group that bought the team on January 3 1973 for $10-million.
He reshaped the club financially, eventually starting his own television network and ballpark food company.
Forbes now values the Yankees at $1,6-billion, trailing only English Premiership club Manchester United ($1,8-billion) and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys ($1,65-billion) in value for a sports franchise.
Last year the Yankees moved from their historic stadium in the Bronx to a new facility a short distance away that quickly was dubbed “the House that George Built”.
Steinbrenner appeared at only four games at the new stadium — the opening game there in April of 2009, the first two games of last season’s World Series and at this season’s home opener.
When he attended this year, Yankees captain Derek Jeter and manager Joe Girardi visited his suite to deliver Steinbrenner’s seventh World Series ring.
Steinbrenner, who celebrated his birthday on July 4, had been in poor health for several years and had passed day-to-day control of the team to his sons Hal and Hank in 2007.
Although he appeared increasingly fragile in his public appearances, Steinbrenner bristled at questions about his health in recent years.
His death was another blow for the club after Bob Sheppard, the “Voice of the Yankees” in 50-plus years as the public address announcer at Yankee Stadium, died on Sunday at the age of 99.
Steinbrenner’s family said there would be a private funeral, with an additional public service “with details to be announced at a later date”.
Famous feud
Steinbrenner famously feuded with Yankees legend Yogi Berra and had a roller-coaster relationship with manager Billy Martin — who Steinbrenner hired five times.
“George was ‘The Boss,’ make no mistake,” Hall of Famer Berra said. “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.”
In 1985 he denounced future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield as “Mr May” — a dig at Winfield after poor performances in the autumn post-season. He was banned from the game for two-and-a-half years for hiring a private investigator to try to dig up dirt on Winfield.
While Steinbrenner enjoyed his reputation as “The Boss” he could also poke fun at it.
He hosted the television comedy show Saturday Night Live, appeared with Martin in a television commercial and was said to find his brusque characterisation on the US TV comedy Seinfeld amusing.
While known for his iron fist, Steinbrenner also made millions of dollars worth of charitable contributions — many coming with the condition that his name be kept secret.
“He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family — his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren,” the family said.
Still, Steinbrenner’s big-spending ways — he made the Yankees the first team with a $200-million payroll — made him a lightning rod for criticism, with some complaining that the huge salaries he paid skewed baseball’s financial and competitive balance.
For Steinbrenner, however, the victories were worth the price.
“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing,” he liked to say. “Breathing first, winning next.” — AFP