RIP George
 

It has been reported that George Steinbrenner has passed away this morning after suffering a massive heart attack. The Boss was the greatest team owner ever and he will surely be missed by all Yankee fans. Rest in peace George.

RIP George, not a Yankee fan but you have to admire the way he ran the franchise and brought them back to preminence.

RIP George!!

Wow...he turned 80 last week. This is huge news, I guess this will change the tenor of tonight's All-Star game. He was a larger than life figure. RIP George.

Truly a sad day for baseball, especially for Yankee fans like me.

RIP George, thanks for some great memories.

My condolences to his family.

My prayers are with the loved ones he left behind.

2 Corinthians 5:8

Wow - first Sheppard, now the Boss. Sad sad day.

My prayers and condolences to his friends and family.

Kind of a shocker...I had seen his remarks about Bob Sheppard just a few days ago. He'll go down as one of the great characters of baseball.

RIP George.

George did more to drive up salaries in baseball other than Marvin Miller.

I don't have to admire the way he ran the Yankees, but I am sorry to hear that he has died.

2 huge losses for the yankees organization this week...hopefully there won't be a third. bastardised and hated while living by many...I'm sure George will be praised and lauded in death...like michael jackson! MY condolences to the family and the yankees organization.

Rest in peace George
 

You were a great man in a great sport. You accomplished some great things with a great team. My condolances to the Stienbrenner family and all Yankee fans everywhere.:(

Remember George
 

We felt a deep sense of sadness with the loss of "voice of God" and
that of the most important sports owner in American History.

For more than 50 years and a 1000 + Yankee home games, the sounds of Bob Shepard's voice echoed though baseball's greatest stadium. Our appreciation for crisp, clear voice will always linger our mind.

Mr. Steinbrenner was an owner who truly understood the importance of winning, and that greatness is paramount. You always knew who the boss. Whilst he had his flaws, he brought the greatest sports team history back to life and back to the top.

We only met Mr. Steinbrenner twice, once with Barry Halper (who owned 2% of the Yankees) and once at a dinner with his date Barbara Walters. We found him to be smart, direct and a true fan.

We will you Bob and George


Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List

Billy's story
 

I heard Billy Martin Jr. on radio this morning telling a story which I thought bore repeating. Steinbrenner had a secretary who constantly messed up his sandwich orders at lunch. George told her he didn't want mayonaisse on his sandwiches but she kept forgetting. The 3rd time it happened, he fired her. One of his employees told him that the only reason she was working was because she was trying to make money and pay her son's college tuition, that she didn't know what she was going to do.
Steinbrenner invited the boy to lunch and spoke with him about it. He didn't rehire the secretary because of what he felt was her inpetitude but sent a check to the college and paid for the last 3 years of the boy's tuition.
The sandwich story made the rounds years ago but now we get to hear the "rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say. Steinbrenner could be a real jerk but he also had a huge heart.

A Tough Man
 

In my former life as a Sports Editor for 24 years, I got a chance to be around George Steinbrenner several times, mostly at spring training. A very tough man. From what I experienced, very tough on people. But there is no discounting that he was a winner. And I like hearing stories about his softer side.

I thought George ate calzones for lunch?

I read a blurb from a local writer here in the bay area about Steinbrenner who was the only one to actually send a check to MLB for their part of revenue sharing..(others wired the money) and he always attached a note to it that says..something to the affect of "this is illegal and outrageous"

You have to hand it to him..he brought the Yankees back from the dead and as much as we hate the "evil empire" baseball isn't the same unless we are saying "those damn Yankees!" every season...

GS
 

Rest in peace, George.
my condolences to family and friends,

barry

Thank you for sharing that, Bruce. Your story and insight give the rest of us a glimpse of the side of George Steinbrenner that few got to see.

I know that today isn't the time for it, given the sadness that you and the rest of the Yankee family are feeling, but perhaps in the coming days you can tell about that time you met Hal Chase, and his date, Mary Pickford.

Please pass along the board's condolences to the Steinbrenner family.

Poor Rob
 

Dear Rob D


Whilst your attempts at humor are amusing. We would certainly be willing to find identify others at the dinner. The restaurant was Jim McMullen's in Manhattan's Upper East- a celebrity hang out in the 1980;s- way above your
financial means and honkey presence.

If the other guests don't verify our story, we will send you
$10,000 and if they do, you will send us $10,000.

Since we do not trust you, or your evil perverted mind, we can put the money in escrow...and then we can let the whole Board know what a waste of air you are.

Keep firing arrows Rob, we will happy to carpet bomb you - nothing like watching hot air go up in smoke.


Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want

Once again, those deft jabs hit their mark. When will I learn? Hard to say. I wasn't fortunate enough to attend Vassar.

(Psst, Bruce, it appears that when you're flustered your punctuation, grammar and sentence structure suffer even more than usual. Maybe an Ivy League-educated proofreader could help?)

Rob,

I could be mistaken, but didn't you trade in your honkey presence for something with a little better mileage?

Deepest sympathies.

Poor Rob
 

Rob

In this case, we were not worried about form or grammar.

We simply are tired of your childlike comments on everything.

So comment all you want. But let's a wager on your accusations.
In that way you will make it worth our time (our standard billing rate
is $500 per hour)

Do have a nice evening.
Whilst you are writing away, we are working on deals for baseball
cards and for two investment banking clients.

Cheers


Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List

What a man. When I first heard I thought about a multitude of Steinbrenner activities that I thought unfortunate... but then I can take pause, consider that Mr. Berra forgave him and considered him a great man, I can reflect upon Mr. Steinbrenner's passion for the national pastime, and I can see that he's deserving of respect and honor. He did quite a bit of good out there, somewhat under the radar. One dynamic fellow... I wish his family well as they accept his loss, and as they celebrate his life.

Bruce, I sincerely mean this: It's good to hear you've found work.

And congratulations in advance on the 137 utra-rare, high-grade type cards you've been able to acquire in the past few hours, solely the result of collectors reading this thread.

IF there is an afterlife, I think a good greeting from Billy to George would have to be "You've been fired!" followed up by a couple of drinks overlooking the A.S. game.

Rob, Bruce--take this petty stuff off the board. It has no place here, especially in a thread like this.

Agreed. My apologies to the Steinbrenner family.

When I think of Steinbrenner, I think of the ads in the back of late 1970's-early 1980's Baseball Digests, selling T-shirts that exclaimed "I Love NY. Its the Yankees I Hate"

Seems only fitting someone would bring up money in a thread about George. But seriously, my friend works in PR and I can't think of a more annoying few minutes of my day than when I'm eating lunch with him and he's telling me how so and so like's their steak, or if I'm drinking a coke about how much so and so loves coke. Gets old fast. I get it, you met a celebrity.

Did anyone catch the clip on ESPN of Yogi discussing the way George fired him in 85? It's very moving. Toward the end of the clip, Yogi broke down and was hard to hold back his emotions. Sad day for baseball even if you are not a Yankees fan.

A sad time indeed for Yankee fans and all of baseball with both Sheppard and Steinbrenner passing. Best wishes to family and friends as they deal with their loss. Love George or hate him, you have to appreciate what he accomplished. I too like hearing about the softer side of the Boss.

I loathed the man until a few years ago when I visited some friends in the Tampa area. I dare you to find a school, hospital, clinic, or university in the vicinity that doesn't have something named after or donated by him. Last year I read a USA Today article detailing his dedication and monetary donations to the families of Police Officers and Firefighters in the region and greater NY. (Baseball politics aside, and least we forget baseball is not a game but a business) Just a great guy.


R.I.P. Boss

George Was A Good Guy...
 

...you just didn't want to work for him (or maybe be a family member).

George attended the same college I did (Williams) and I met him once in Williamstown. In that environment he was just as approachable and friendly as any other alumnus.

I'll add to the positive stories that tbob and Steve related. A female classmate of mine was working in the New York area after graduation and was going to Florida to meet family for the Christmas holiday. Through some unfortunate circumstances she missed her flight, which happened to be last flight out for the evening. George was at the same airport and came upon her crying. After starting a conversation with her, when he found out she, too, was a Williams alum, George took her to Florida on his jet.

George had some good qualities. He just cared (some would argue he cared too much) about winning.

I think it's well documented that the man was hard to work for, but lets face it, there are tons of people in every day jobs that are hard to work for...even impossible to work for and they never show a softer side. If I know nothing else about the man, the fact that he was so generous with charitable contributions, and that he always took care of former employees and their families, is enough for me to know he was a good guy.
Rest in Peace George.

As a Sox fan I'll miss him. If he hadn't built the Yankees into the team they are, I don't think the Sox would be the same team. And the rivalry wouldn't be what it is.

The club I'm in had a former Yankee as a speaker, and he had many interesting things to say about him. One was that one of the first things he checked every day was the attendance figures for the Mets. If they were outdrawing the Yankees it was almost guaranteed that he'd say something a bit out of line about a player. But that it was always a player who was secure enough to handle it or a guy that would respond well. (Like Winfield being Mr May)
The second was that for many players he was privately a really great guy. This player had some family thing going on, I think it was a child being born and was summoned to the office. he was expecting to be grilled about how long he expected to be out, but instead was told to take as much time as he needed and to come back when he was ready.

Tough business man, but a guy who knew how to make the team a success both on field and for profit. And probably way nicer than he seemed publicly.

Steve B

When I think of him it reminds me of the few owners who ruined baseball by thier greedy spending.

Your statement is oxymoronic. What is "greedy spending"?


I think baseball is being ruined by the greedy owners who won't spend to make their teams competitive.

GREEDY that they have to have all the great players so they spend a fortune to get them. The problem is baseball lets them. I don't blame George, he had the money so he used it. But only to make more money. He was a great business man, but a stinker. He did great for the Yankees but did nothing for baseball.

First of all, he was the owner of the NY Yankees, NOT the Commissioner of MLB. It was his fiduciary responsibility to improve the Yankees. It wasn't his job to "do" anything for baseball. (But, as I'll mention later, I disagree with that statement anyway. He was great for baseball.)

Secondly, he could have made much more money than he did by not spending it on players. Are you aware that the Yankees are one of the MLB teams that usually loses money in their annual P&L? He simply took the Revenue available to him (Tickets, Parking, Concessions, TV money, etc.) and plowed it back into HIS TEAM!

Thirdly, he didn't have to have all the "great players," but he did have a deep seated desire to win. Doing so involves spending money, and taking chances on the better players. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. But he never accepted complacency. He ate the bad contracts and moved on to the next one. The owners you should be pissed about (too many to list, but use Tom Hicks of Texas and the Wrigley Corp as examples) are the ones who don't care if they win. When the Marlins won the World Series in 2003, the Yankees paid about $11 million in Luxury Tax. Several million of that went to the Florida Marlins. What did they do with it? They flew ALL of their front office staff and families to NYC for the games, put them up in The Plaza, partied for days, won the World Series, went home, pleaded poverty, and broke up the team. They didn't re-sign a player. They didn't go get a free agent to help.

Lastly, and I don't understand people who don't get this one, since the revenue is there (estimated at over $600 million to the Yankees last year) If George doesn't give it to the players, who should it go to?


During Steinbrenner's time with the Yankees, they have been outstanding. And they have been awful. He never tolerated awful. Forcing them to be good again has been very good for baseball. The Red Sox got good in the last 10 years because they finally got an owner that really wanted to win. That rivalry is GREAT for baseball.

I grew up hating the Yankees and Steinbrenner; however, I was always envious of the team for having him as an owner. The man wanted to win more than any owner in professional sports and if you were a Yankee fan you reaped the benefits of that singular mindset.

Not as much as the Cavs owner claims he wants to win. :D:D:D

It should go to George and the other Yankee owners, they are the ones who took the risk and they should reap the rewards. Because George chooses to spend his money on players doesn't mean it is a prudent business decision for other owners.

Condolences to his family; his baseball field at Williams College is beautiful.

Took the risk?

He invested $160,000 of his own money.

I am sorry David but I fail to see your point, could you please clarify it?

Well JIM BV, I can see your a Yankee fan. Never said he couldn't invest, nor did I say he was Comish. Said he was a greedy pig, and he was. Sick of hearing how much he did for baseball. Sorry but he did nothing. He made the Yankees a winner by spending a fortune that he made being in the biggest sports market in the world, NY. Don't lay that crap on me that the Yankees don't make any money. That is a complete joke.

How was he a greedy pig? You're making it seems like all baseball owners want to win a World Series. They all have the money, otherwise they wouldn't own a baseball team. But a lot of owners aren't fans, they're businessmen. So they don't want to spend it. You're not considering the fact that a lot of owners or owners groups don't care. That's not George's fault. He wanted to win. I don't think anyone ever doubted George was a fan, which is what made him such a great owner.

Frank,

Regardless of what team I'm a fan of, you should probably stay off of public message boards until you know what you're talking about.

You said he was greedy and your proof is that he spends too much money. You're not smart enough to see that those two statements fly against each other.

You also don't seem to be able to distinguish between a bottom line profit and an increase in net value. I probably can't fix that for you here. Maybe you can find a fine Ivy League School to help you out.

You said he hasn't done anything for baseball. That's clearly wrong. Even Red Sox fans will tell you that he has inspired their ownership to be better. MLB has never been stronger, financially and fan-wise than it is right now. Teams that are doing poorly are their own worst enemy.

Yes, he benefited by being in the biggest sports market in the world. But they were in that same market for 10 years when CBS owned them and they were a disaster. George fixed that.

There are many, many, things that you could have hated Steinbrenner for. He was a jerk. He was a bully. He was an ass to work for. He dated Barbara Walters. But you didn't pick one of those. You picked greedy. Wanting to win isn't the definition of greedy. If he was greedy he would have sold the team. His group bought them for less than $10 million (As David pointed out, George's share was rumored to be around $160,000.) Today, estimates are they could be sold for over $1.5 billion. Now if he sold them, that would have been greedy.

Finally, the team is privately held, so they don't have to release their P&L to the public, butthey do have to release it to MLB. And yes, they lose money almost every year.

I believe David's point is that Steinbrenner put up almost none of his own money when he bought the team.

I've been a Yankee fan for 45 years, and was almost embarrassed to say so during the first ten years of Steinbrenner's regime. He is associated with leading the free agency spending that completely changed the baseball landscape, and that association is valid. Still, as time passed, I came to realize that if not George, another would have stepped forward and started the spending orgy. Being first and brashest made him a poster boy for those unhappy with the way baseball operates. I get that, but again, it was inevitable.

BTW--sorry, I don't believe the Yankees lose money. For years anyway, and maybe still, they played the shell game of not counting the money they receive from their interest in the YES network in their bottom line--at least the bottom line they gave to MLB. Not chump change by any stretch--hell, their RADIO revenue was larger than many teams' TV cash.

Thanks Peter, however I believe my point is still valid. George and the other owners took the risk be it through cash, credit, leases, player contracts, employees, and a myriad of other liabilities that they were on the hook for.

For all his other faults. George was smart enough to know that he don't make money without fannies in the seats.

And it's the players--certain ones in particular--that put the fannies in the seats.

So paying what it takes to get those players was--and is--good business strategy.

A strategy that turns your $8.5 million "risk" into a $1.6 billion commodity.

It's rather disturbing to me that a man dies, and all that is remembered by some is that he "ruined baseball".

Never mind all the charitable work the guy did and his very generous nature.

I agree, I don't think that was very tasteful in an "RIP" thread.

agreed
 

+1



Unless the person is a murderer or child molester, when they pass away, I feel it's time to remember them positively. Let bygones be bygones....

i totally agree. Way to many negative comments and fighting on a thread to honor a man who has just died. Every man has faults, but George had many fine qualities as well. This is a time to remember those. He will be missed and should go to Cooperstown one day, imo. RIP, and to Bob Sheppard as well.

Condolences to his family and the Yankees.

When a man dies the positive things he did in his lifetime should certainly be foremost, and many of the not so good things need not be stressed.

However, when writing the obituary that will appear in newspapers throughout the country, it's acceptable to present a balanced picture of a man's life. It's perfectly fine to discuss many of the bizarre hirings and firings, and the often terrible trades Steinbrenner engineered, since that is an integral part of who he was. An obituary should really be a biography of a man's life.

But on a thread like this, which is ostensibly a tribute to Mr. Steinbrenner, there's a different acceptable standard. This is the place to praise him and send condolences-period. No need to discuss the negatives.

Can someone from Net 54 collect these condolences and send them to the Steinbrenner family? I'm sure they would appreciate that.

Loving this thread...
 

absolutely loving it !
:D

Jeff,
I'm thinking they're longtime lurkers. :D

Knock it off, guys.

*

Funny, I see this all the time when someone dies. Oh he was a wonderful man, oh he was a good guy. Phonies. Whats the big deal about his death. We all will die sooner or later. Does death make us such a wonderful person automaticly. Sorry some of you guys don't like it but a person is what he is, weather living or dead

Yeah. You must be right. "Automaticly." (sic) "Weather" (sic) or not!

Sorry, but dieing doesn't absolve you from being a prick.

Frank,


Dieing?

Please invest in a Spellcheck program. You're killing me, Barry, and Rob (plus, probably a few others.)

LOL, I hope that "dieing" doesn't kill you, Barry, Rob or anyone else. :-)

Kenny

I'm just looking to stay out of trouble.

Barry,
 

why? are you on some kind of probation? :D

Jason- correcting spelling is not always well received.:)

On another note, next week the ten episodes of Seinfeld that will be shown by TBS will all be ones with George Steinbrenner (not that they're so hard to find in a normal week).

I remember most the 1970's, with Billy Martin, etc. After that I mostly stuck to the Atlanta Braves, the National League and didn't even think about it much when he was in the news. Here in the Tampa Bay Area he is very well known because of the Yankees and what he has contributed. Have not heard anything negative on him for years.

I hope(as for any person), that he was correct with God at the end.

Sorry if this has already been shared but I thought it fit this thread well.
Nice and touching article regarding George Steinbrenner.
RC
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/1...ex.html?hpt=C2

Steinbrenner
 

I have been hearing all the accolades about Steinbrenner and I disagree. A long time family friend of my wife before she passed worked for the Yankees as a cleaner from 1964-1983 Irma Ramirez. In 1983 Steinbrenner got mad about sometething and first took away health/dental benefits from about 40 longtime workers. When they tried to complain he fired them all. These were people who worked their ass off for the Yankees and made basically the minimum wage. I remember Irma telling me how much she hated Steinbrenner. I researched it and the replacements mostly immigrants never got any health benefits even though club executives were in favor of it. Steinbrenner was a bully to the poor and little guy.CN

Chris,

It's perfectly OK to disagree.

It's not OK to post negative comments in a thread designed to eulogize someone. It shows a lack of class.

There is no argument that Steinbrenner touched many people in his life. Some good. Some bad. But it is in poor taste to wait 27 years after an event and then slam someone on a public message board.

In addition, it's poor etiquette to derail the original thread, which was intended as a tribute to a human being who has passed.

At least in your case, your facts may be accurate. Other posters who come on making wild claims about him "ruining baseball," are based in emotion, and, simply, inaccurate.

Steinbrenner
 

Jim,I totally disagree with you. I have my facts and my opinion of a person is mine. I just said that he was not the Saint that many people have made him out to be.CN

What's to disagree with me about? I said you are entitled to your opinion. I said your facts may be 100% accurate. (It was the other guy whose statements were full of misinformation.)

I did say that it's improper to derail Jay's thread (or any thread meant to eulogize someone) by speaking ill of the dead. Chiming negatively into this sort of thread makes you look like an insensitive individual.

If you started your own thread ripping into George, that would be fine (a little crude, given the timing, but fine.)