George Steinbrenner Dead at 80

"It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing. He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80"

That was the confirmation of reports that New York Yankees owner and icon George Steinbrenner has died this morning after suffering a massive heart attack late last night. Steinbrenner was rushed to a Tampa area hospital on Monday, and passed away at approximately 6:30am Tuesday.

The Yankees owner since 1973, Steinbrenner revolutionized baseball with his win-at-all-costs mentality. To date, no owner of any professional sports team has done more to transform the culture of sports, or for his franchise, than Steinbrenner did. (more after the jump)

Under his guidance, the Yankees won 11 American League Pennants and seven World Series titles.

When Steinbrenner took over in New York, the designated hitter experiment was in only its second year. Free agency hadn’t really even begun. But Steinbrenner’s willingness to spend large sums of money on his team quickly turned the Yankees into the powerhouse we see today. Steinbrenner was the first owner to open up his check book, and forced the more miserly owners to follow suit, or be left behind.

Steinbrenner made his money in the Shipyards of Cleveland, OH, serving as President of the American Shipbuilding Company. One year prior to his successful bid to purchase the Yankees from CBS, he was part of failed attempt to purchase the Cleveland Indians. One can only imagine how history might have been changed had his group been successful.

From his start in New York, Steinbrenner made no secret his passion for victory. He routinely replaced managers and general managers, earning him the nickname “the Boss.” Over his career in New York, Steinbrenner’s Yankees went through 22 managers and 12 general managers. He hired and then fired Billy Martin five times.

Steinbrenner’s group purchased the Yankees for a reported $10 million in 1973, though Steinbrenner later admitted the price for the club was merely $8.8 million. In 2007, after the successful launch of the YES network (of which the Yankees own 36%), the ballclub was estimated to be worth over $1.2 billion, the first professional sports franchise to ever be valued so highly.

Steinbrenner, who had been in failing health for years, turned over day-to-day operations to his sons, Hank and Hal, in the midst of the 2007 season. His presence, however, is still very much felt in the Yankees offices.

There has been controversy in Steinbrenner’s run as owner of the Yankees, no question about that. He has feuded publicly with players, managers, broadcasters, even front office personnel, but there is no man who ever cared as much about fielding a winning baseball team than he did.

No cost was too high, no mountain too large, Steinbrenner would get his way. And his way proved to be the path to success more often than not.

He wasn’t the most popular owner, far from it. He was almost universally disliked by fans of the other 29 teams in baseball, but I’d bet that every one of those fans wished they had Steinbrenner running their team. I know I did.

Rest in peace, George, there has never been another like you. And there likely never will.