George Steinbrenner

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George Michael Steinbrenner III (born July 4, 1930 in Rocky River , Ohio , † July 13, 2010 in Tampa , Florida ) was an American entrepreneur and from 1973 to 2010 the main owner of the New York Yankees baseball team . Because of his authoritarian leadership style, he was also known by the nickname "The Boss".

In addition to the New York Yankees, he also owned shares in the New Jersey Nets and the New Jersey Devils . Due to the regularly approved particularly high player salaries, it was very controversial. He also often made quite controversial statements. When the Yankees never got anywhere near the World Series between the late 1970s and mid-1990s, scoffers said that the team should be renamed the New York Steinbrenners because it was only George who anyway keep making headlines.

Unlike many other team owners, Steinbrenner did not shy away from spending tens of millions on new players to improve his team. His willingness to meet often excessive wage demands of players has made him extremely unpopular with many managers and fans of other teams, as they believe Steinbrenner was responsible for the explosion in salaries in baseball.

On the other hand, his willingness to invest and take risks ensured numerous titles by the New York Yankees (including seven World Series titles between 1977 and 2009 ) and thus a great deal of respect.

background

Steinbrenner grew up in Cleveland . He practiced track and field and American football at the Culver Military Academy in Indiana and continued to coach athletics at Williamson College, Massachusetts , where he graduated in 1952. After two years in the Air Force , he coached high school football teams in Columbus before taking an assistant coaching job at Northwestern and Purdue Universities .

In 1960 he bought the Cleveland Pipers, which played in the National Industrial Basketball League. To found the American Basketball League (ABL), Steinbrenner let the team change to this league in 1961, where they could win the title of the first season. Steinbrenner managed to sign the nationally known basketball talent Jerry Lucas the following season . In doing so, he hoped to make the Pipers attractive enough to move to the NBA . The plan worked, but the ABL had the exit prohibited by a court. Steinbrenner's team no longer had a league. He dissolved it and returned to the American Shipbuilding Company to buy it out soon.

Steinbrenner tried unsuccessfully to buy the Cleveland Indians for $ 9 million. In 1973 Steinbrenner succeeded in taking over the New York Yankees with a group of investors and, through the engagement of manager Billy Martin and the free agents Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson, brought them back to old successes.

Steinbrenner gained media fame in later years through the sitcom Seinfeld , the most successful television program of its genre in the USA in the 1990s. There were regular appearances of his character in the series, although Steinbrenner did not appear himself. Instead, only the back of a double was shown and Steinbrenner's voice was imitated (originally by Larry David , one of the co-founders of the series). These appearances were seen as an homage to Steinbrenner as the New York original and became a popular element of the hit show. Steinbrenner initially rejected Seinfeld and refused a cameo ; later he liked the series and eventually even agreed to an appearance in the finale of the seventh season. The three finished scenes had to be removed due to time constraints.

death

Steinbrenner died on July 13, 2010 at the age of 80 in Tampa, Florida of complications from a heart attack.

Web links

Commons : George Steinbrenner  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hoopedia the NBA , accessed 3 June 2011
  2. ↑ obituary in ontheredcarpet.com , accessed 3 June 2011
  3. ↑ The forgotten cameo of George Steinbrenner ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Eng.), inserted on Sept. 2, 2012  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.outsidetheboxscoreblog.com
  4. ↑ Steinbrenner, iconic Yankees owner, dies . In: MLB.com . July 13, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
personal data
SURNAME Steinbrenner, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Steinbrenner, George Michael III (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Rocky River , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH July 13, 2010
Place of death Tampa , Florida