“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”- George Steinbrenner
The first word that comes to mind when I think of the late George Steinbrenner is PASSIONATE. He was a passionate business man, passionate about success, and more then anything else, a passionate family man. I am a New York Yankee fan, and have been for the past 20 years. For those 20 years my team has always had one owner, George Steinbrenner. George Steinbrenner reminds me of that rich grandfather, the one that is very giving and loving with his family, but the minute he leaves the Thanksgiving dinner table and goes into the real world, he is a mean old man. He was once quoted as saying,” I’m really 95 percent Mr. Rogers, and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch.”
Over the next few weeks you are going to hear an outpouring of stories about what George Steinbrenner meant to the history of baseball. It really goes without saying that George is a legend and a pioneer of America’s past time You will hear tales of his successes and greatness, you will hear stories that will make you laugh at his sheer ridiculousness, and you will hear some things that make you very happy that your business and his business never crossed paths. One constant message you will find, is that George Steinbrenner did things his way, for better or worse. George paved a path for baseball greatness for the Yankees and in the process he literally created a new type of entrepreneur.
Most people underestimate the value of a strong owner. I appreciate a good owner. My two favorite teams in sports are polar opposites. The Knicks have a rich owner, Jim Dolan, that is a professional douche, and has never brought a title to NY. Dolan constantly makes bad decision after bad decision, and cares more about alcohol and his band then winning in NY. Priority number 1 surrounding the NY Yankees is winning and that culture was created by a boss who would not accept anything less. It began with his acquisition of the NY Yankees from CBS for $8.7 million dollars, formerly a shipping tycoon he never planned on being involved in the day-to-day operations of the Yankees. We soon found that would not be the case. From his infamous multiple firings and hirings of Billy Martin, the $700,000 he paid to Catfish Hunter (which at the time was a massive deal), his multi-million dollar signing of Reggie Jackson, and the countless other public battles he had with players and coaches (i.e Don Mattingly and Yogi Berra).
As it was last year, George Steinbrenner steals the headlines on the day of the MLB All-Star game. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Below is a clip from last seasons All-Star game at the new Yankee Stadium, the house that George Steinbrenner built.
