04/18/24
July 13, 2010
Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner Dies: George Steinbrenner died Tuesday morning in Tampa after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 80. Steinbrenner was a towering and intimidating figure who dominated the New York sports scene for 35 years, winning 11 American League pennants and seven world championships as owner of the Yankees, in and around two suspensions from baseball and multiple feuds and firings.
George Steinbrenner has indeed passed away.
posted by NerfballPro at 09:56 AM on July 13, 2010
Whatever you feel about the man personally, he certainly was a colorful character that made the business of baseball more interesting (to me at least). Deep down inside, irrespective of whether folks think his style of ownership is bad for the game, I think most fans would be really happy to have someone like him as owner of their favorite teams. The focus on winning is certainly not something you can count on from all owners, particularly corporate owners, those welfare queens who seem more intent on holding municipalities/taxpayers hostage and not reinvesting their revenue share, etc. Fitting that he went on top, so to speak -- with the Yankees as reigning WS champs (and presumably favorites to repeat) and in first place with the best record in MLB.
posted by holden at 09:59 AM on July 13, 2010
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posted by BornIcon at 10:00 AM on July 13, 2010
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posted by tommybiden at 10:12 AM on July 13, 2010
As a fan who has enjoyed the Yankees as an antagonist, I missed Steinbrenner's presence in recent years when the team was antagonizing the rest of the league with more championships. When he bought the team with his partners in 1973, they were in such bad shape that the $8.8 million purchase price was $4.4 million lower than the previous owner paid in 1964. They are now worth a billion dollars. Has there ever been a team ownership who turned less into more?
posted by rcade at 10:37 AM on July 13, 2010
posted by tommybiden at 10:41 AM on July 13, 2010
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posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:59 AM on July 13, 2010
He was a wonderful philanthropist in Tampa. He really was a part of the community in Tampa, and will be missed.
posted by bperk at 11:14 AM on July 13, 2010
Same can be said here in Columbus OH, home of their longtime TripleA affiliate, Clippers. He wasn't necessarily involved in day-to-day stuff but he seemed to be a quiet supporter of Buckeye athletics (sure-fire way to people's hearts around here) and the Clippers' people that I personally know couldn't come up with a negative thing to say about him.
posted by littleLebowski at 12:02 PM on July 13, 2010
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posted by boredom_08 at 12:10 PM on July 13, 2010
My wife's niece married Billy Martin's son, who is the spitting image of his dad and a great guy. There's a funny quote by Billy about his dad and George in a two-year-old Times article: "Mr. Steinbrenner fired my father five times, but he also hired him five times. I am the only Martin that hasn't been fired by the Yankees. I did an internship in 1986."
posted by rcade at 12:16 PM on July 13, 2010
Can't say I ever liked the man, but someone who wants to win that badly and use his money to try do that isn't going to make friends with everyone on the planet. For better or worse, he's the grandfather of the modern game and helped make baseball what it is today. Plus, he did rescue the Yankees from obscurity in the 1970s when he took the team over and made them a perennial powerhouse all over again. You have to respect that about him.
RIP George. There'll never be another like you.
posted by NerfballPro at 12:35 PM on July 13, 2010
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posted by fadetoblack5 at 12:38 PM on July 13, 2010
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posted by yzelda4045 at 01:00 PM on July 13, 2010
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posted by TheQatarian at 01:15 PM on July 13, 2010
Can we change that headline?
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:45 PM on July 13, 2010
RIP George. There'll never be another like you.
Well said. There is, and will continue to be those who try to operate like Steinbrenner, but he's the original. He wanted to win, period. I just watched one interview with him where he said that after breathing, winning is the most important thing for him. That may seem a bit extreme to some, but I doubt there's many fans in, for instance, Chicago (Cubs fans) who wouldn't gladly have had him as their owner 30 years ago. For every instance of him being a jerk, there are probably thousands upon thousands of instances of him doing incredible, generous, selfless things for others. Those things, unfortunately, don't get as much press. Even as a Yankee fan, there were times I couldn't stand him. His love of the Yankees and relentless desire to win, though, always won me over in the long run.
posted by dyams at 01:47 PM on July 13, 2010
Can we change that headline?
He's not suffering anymore.
posted by NerfballPro at 01:52 PM on July 13, 2010
Can we change that headline?
Changed. I need to open up front-page posts to longer editing.
posted by rcade at 01:56 PM on July 13, 2010
Appreciated, rcade.
posted by NerfballPro at 02:21 PM on July 13, 2010
Never a Yankee fan, but always admired George. My favorite quote was when he was being hammered in an interview a few years back about revenue sharing. He asked the interviewer...."If K-Mart needs money, do you think Wal-Mart gives it to them?" I figured that was an obvious shot at our Royals Owner, but it made a lot of sense to me, nonetheless.
posted by kcfan4life at 02:38 PM on July 13, 2010
The Yankees/ Red Sox rivalry will never be as much fun. He had a bad run in the '80s, but he made an indelible and positive mark on baseball. I'm with John Henry.
posted by yerfatma at 03:44 PM on July 13, 2010
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posted by Joey Michaels at 04:04 PM on July 13, 2010
A legend! That is all. (RIP.)
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:41 PM on July 13, 2010
I can see Billy at the Pearly Gates, waiting to welcome George........and, they'll both be there to welcome Reggie.
posted by Bozemanite at 06:07 PM on July 13, 2010
They'll be too busy counting their money and riffing on one another to even see Reggie walking up.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:13 PM on July 13, 2010
If bad things come in threes, the Yankees should really have someone keeping an eye on Whitey Ford and Yogi
posted by Demophon at 07:43 PM on July 13, 2010
Just heard on the Mike & Mike show on ESPN that Steinbrenner passed away.