The Empire That George Built

When news spread that the Godfather of the New York Yankees died from a massive heart attack in Tampa, Fla., on July 13, the Big Apple wept. Hell, the whole sports nation was saddened. Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered City Hall to lower the flags to half-mast, and a marquee outside the $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium scrolled “George M. Steinbrenner III, 1930-2010.” Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter told a reporter that the news of Steinbrenner’s death was like the news of a family member’s passing.

What Steinbrenner did for baseball, the Yankees, and New York City was ruthless, insurmountable, and legendary. He ruled with an iron fist, probably made grown men cry, but he also turned out (and dished out) spectacular numbers for the franchise. “George was ‘The Boss,’ make no mistake,” Hall of Famer Yogi Berra said to ESPN, referring to the nickname Steinbrenner earned and epitomized until his final days. “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.”

“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.” 1998

If successes in Major League Baseball could be monopolized, Steinbrenner was the closest to doing so. The owner of the most storied sports franchise in history turned a struggling, downtrodden team, which he bought from CBS Inc. for $8.8 million in 1973, into the $1.6 billion juggernaut we all know today—of course not without controversies and lucrative business meddling. But under his 37-plus-year reign, he led the Yankees to seven World Series championships, 11 American League pennants, and 16 AL East titles.

Some critics may say Steinbrenner bought those championships, but he was a true American capitalist—turning the $8.8 million ball club into a billion-dollar-plus investment. He understood supply and demand extremely well—if he supplied the money, the talent would come. If the talent brought championships and pennants, fans would pay exuberant amounts of money to watch the best in the league play ball, regardless of a recession or not.

The Yankees’ approximate $206 million payroll today is unmatched by others by a long shot. Even the Red Sox, the second highest paying team, is still short by $46 million. When free agency arrived in 1975, Steinbrenner ushered in the era of multimillion-dollar salaries, starting with Jim “Catfish” Hunter, who signed with the Yankees for $3.5 million. Steinbrenner freely shelled out millions to Jeter, Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage, Alex Rodriguez, among many others. In return, championships rolled in, starting with two back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and 1978.

And while his endless pocketbook made other franchise owners and managers angry and envious, Steinbrenner inadvertently helped other teams make more money. The Yankees drew in one of the biggest crowds in baseball, even when they were on the road. According to Forbes, more than 25 percent of MLB licensed merchandise sold is Yankee-related, and this profit gets split evenly among baseball’s 30 teams. The Yankees also paid $25.7 million in luxury tax from their high payroll in 2009.

Steinbrenner also revolutionized the business of baseball by being the first owner to sell TV cable rights to Madison Square Garden Network and started his own television network, YES, and ballpark food company. Between television deals and attendance records, Steinbrenner escalated the New York Yankees to the status of the highest-valued sports franchise in North America.

“Some guys can lead through real, genuine respect, but I’m not that kind of a leader.” 1974

Steinbrenner was known for doing three things—winning, yelling, and firing. If he wasn’t doing the first thing, the other two came along very shortly afterwards. The former Cleveland shipbuilding tycoon famously said back in 1973, when he and a team assumed ownership of the Yankees, “We’re not going to pretend we’re something we’re not. I’ll stick to building ships.” That mentality quickly changed. “Nothing is as limited as being a limited partner of George’s,” John McMullen had said.

Long before Donald Trump coined, “You’re fired,” Steinbrenner was notorious for firing managers, rehiring them, and firing them again. The team cycled management 20 times (Billy Martin alone was fired and rehired five times) during The Boss’s tumultuous tenure. Steinbrenner assured Berra, who was named team manager for the 1985 season, he wouldn’t fire him. After the 16th game of the season, he did. Berra didn’t speak to him again until Steinbrenner apologized 14 years later.

Yes, Steinbrenner was the bombastic dictator, but he never apologized for his effrontery, even if it cost him. He was suspended for two years for making illegal campaign contributions to Nixon’s re-election fund and was fined $20,000. He was suspended and fined again, this time for $50,000, when he made public statements about the integrity of an umpire. In 1990, Baseball Commissioner Fay T. Vincent banned Steinbrenner for almost three years for paying a gambler to dig up dirt on Yankees’ outfielder Dave Winfield, because Winfield sued Steinbrenner for failing to contribute $300,000 to his foundation.

“I care about New York dearly. I like every cab driver, every guy that stops the car and honks, every truck driver. I feed on that.” 2004

Though Steinbrenner lived in Tampa, he embodied the true New Yorker and took the empire state of mind to heart. “Maybe the silk stocking guys don’t like the way I run this ball club, but the little guy—the bartender, the guy pushing a cart, the cab drivers—they’re the ones who need the Yankees. My involvement is not sipping cocktails in all the fashionable places. My involvement is in the roots of the city,” he said in 1977.

After the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1981 World Series, he even apologized to the fans: “I want to sincerely apologize to the people of New York and to the fans of the New York Yankees everywhere for the performance of the Yankee team in the World Series. I also want to assure you that we will be at work immediately to prepare for 1982.”

He didn’t just rally for Yankees wins; he held high expectations for America as well. After the 1988 Winter Olympics, when the U.S. camehome with a measly six medals overall, Steinbrenner, the vice president of the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1996, pounded his fist on a podium and talked about how “appalled” he was by stories of U.S. athletes having to scrounge for rent and training. He raised funds for the U.S. athletes, with most coming out of his own pocket, including a contribution of $10,000 to a 13-year-old Michelle Kwan, whose parents were scouring for money for her skating.

“His influence on the U.S. Olympic Movement, his devotion to sport, and the pursuit of excellence will forever be remembered,” the USOC said in a statement.

“I haven’t always done a good job, and I haven’t always been successful. But I know that I have tried.” 2005

Born on the 4th of July, Steinbrenner was the modern-day Yankee Doodle Dandy, a one-man show. Before his sovereignty with the Yankees, he served as an assistant football coach at Northwestern University and Purdue University, chairman and CEO of the American Shipbuilding Company (the company’s gross sales in 1967 were more than $100 annually), owner of the American Basketball League’s Cleveland Pipers, and he dabbled in the Kentucky Derby and Broadway, producing and investing in a few shows, including two Tony Award nominees for Best Musical.

Though Steinbrenner bullied and snarled, few saw his softer side. He gave countless contributions to charities, but did so anonymously. His own charities, the New York Yankees Tampa Foundation, Gold Shield Foundation, and Steinbrenner Family Foundation, brought in a collective $1.6 million in revenue for 2008-2009.

Sometimes, his acts of kindness were quite spontaneous. He paid the medical school expenses of Olympic swimmer Ron Karnaugh after his father died during the opening ceremony at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. And in 1991, on his way to play golf in Ocala, Fla., Steinbrenner stopped by a Boys & Girls Clubs bus broken down on the highway. He spent $200 on lunch at McDonald’s, called in another bus, and then sent the kids to Busch Gardens.

In the later years, Steinbrenner was less of a hard-ass. He cried in public on several occasions, including when West Point cadets cheered for him at the Yankee’s 2004 home opener.

In 1981, he vowed, “I’m like a fan. I live with the Yankees and I die with the Yankees.” As the executive owner of one of the greatest teams in sports history into his final days, he surely did.