On July 13, 2010, Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees lost one of their most eccentric owners on the 
same day they celebrated their 81st All-Star Game.
George “The Boss” Steinbrenner suffered a heart attack in his Tampa, Florida home and passed away after 37 years of ownership in Major League Baseball, a stint that began in 1973 when he purchased the Yankees.
To commemorate the owner, the Yankees will be wearing custom-made patches on their game jerseys for the remainder of the season.
Steinbrenner revolutionized ownership in all major league sports after his purchase of the New York Yankees from CBS on January 3, 1973, an acquisition that occurred after his failed attempt to purchase the Cleveland Indians a year earlier.
Steinbrenner would go on to hold ownership of the Yankees longer than any previous owner in the team’s history and soon became known for his controversial moves with management, players and other personnel.
Three months after he unpacked his bags in the Bronx, controversy ensued when the team’s president left the organization after crossing paths with The Boss. The following season, Steinbrenner attempted to hire rival manager Dick Williams from the Oakland Athletics but was prevented from doing so due to Williams remaining under contract with the A’s. Adding controversy to this attempt was the fact Williams had mysteriously resigned following a second consecutive World Series championship for his A’s.
At that same time, the A’s and Yankees rivalry was fueled when the flamboyant Yankees owner began targeting and signing several Oakland players including Catfish Hunter and most notably, Reggie Jackson.
Steinbrenner was also notorious for his grooming demands that prevented players from displaying facial hair with the exception of mustaches – a policy that was challenged several times most notably by fan favorite, Don Mattingly.
A more recent example of the results from the hair codes around the Yankee clubhouse is when Johnny Damon left the Boston Red Sox organization with his shoulder-length hair and a full beard then showed up at his first Yankees press conference as clean shaven as a Marine.
Throughout his years at the helm, regardless of performance, Steinbrenner would change management. In fact, Billy Martin was fired and eventually rehired five times among the twenty changes that were made in The Boss’ first 23 years of ownership. Many times personal animosity would result from on-field moves and decisions such as the case of Buck Showalter’s resignation in 1995.
One of Steinbrenner’s most unusual moves for the era came before the beginning of the 1981 season when Dave Winfield was presented with a $23 million contract over a period of ten years. At the time, this move made Winfield the highest paid player in the history of baseball. By 1985 Steinbrenner openly questioned the performance of Winfield to media personnel after the team struggled in a September series against the rival Toronto Blue Jays.
The feud with Winfield finally culminated in 1990 when it was discovered that Steinbrenner had paid for information to be “dug up” on Winfield who had already sued the Yankees in the amount of $300,000 due to a violation of contract issues.
After investigation by MLB, Steinbrenner would receive a lifetime ban from baseball that was later lifted when he was reinstated in 1993. The feud would remain so bitter that Winfield chose to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of the San Diego Padres – the first team Winfield had played for and the city he had left to become a member of the Yankees.
Steinbrenner eventually become less involved in the actual operations of the team and it was during this period that the team became a consistent contender, playing neck-and-neck with the eventual World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays until September 1993. The Yankees finally returned to the playoffs in 1995 ending a 14-year drought.
In a more recent move that was heavily criticized by the media and numerous members within baseball, Steinbrenner hired Joe Torre in 1996 in what would end up his longest managerial relationship at a record of twelve years. With Torre as manager, Steinbrenner produced a World Series winner when the Yankees defeated a very competitive Atlanta Braves team in six games in 1996.
The team would return to, and win, the World Series again in 1998, 1999 and 2000 while making the playoffs every season for 12 consecutive years until falling short and finishing third in the competitive American League East in 2008.
Success was once again right around the corner as the Yankees again captured the World Series championship in 2009 after a series with the Philadelphia Phillies. The championship marked the 27thof the organization and the seventh under the ownership of Steinbrenner.
Steinbrenner leaves behind a legacy of championships and controversy as owner of the New York Yankees.
The salaries of professional sports were forever changed when Dave Winfield was pulled away from the San Diego Padres with such a lucrative offer for that time. For the most part – prior to Steinbrenner – management was content to hire general managers and presidents who would run the operation of the game as they watched from a distance.
The Boss was one of the first to become involved in day-to-day operations of the team and began a legacy of management changes during unsuccessful periods that still echo today. Steinbrenner was one of the first to look for immediate success with new management and that trend has continued across all four major sports leagues. Above all, though, Steinbrenner will remain beloved as a man that loved his Yankees, city and game.
Used with permission of the author.
Cade Caldwell is an Atlanta-based sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax.
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