Books and articles about George Steinbrenner

George Steinbrenner made himself synonymous with owner meddling, involving himself with the day-to-day fortunes of his ballclub to an extent unmatched by any owner since Connie Mack, who was his own manager. Only Charlie Finley can approach Steinbrenner in this, but not even Finley equaled Steinbrenner's record of 17 managerial changes in his first 17 seasons. Finley rehired Alvin Dark as manager just once; Steinbrenner gave Billy Martin five separate terms. Graig Nettles commented, "Every year is like being traded - a new manager and a whole new team."

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The son of a Great Lakes shipping family, Steinbrenner made his money as chairman of the American Shipbuilding Company, a Cleveland-based firm. In his youth he was an assistant football coach at Northwestern and Purdue universities (Jim Spencer said of his employer, "George Steinbrenner knows nothing about baseball. He doesn't understand that this is a major league team, not Purdue") and assembled national champions in the National Industrial and American Basketball leagues. In 1973 he put together the group that bought the Yankees from CBS, promising at the time, "I won't be active in the day-to-day operations of the club at all." But one-time associate John McMullen, who later owned the Astros, said, "Nothing is more limited than being a limited partner of George's."

The advent of free agency proved a boon to Steinbrenner although he said of it early on, "I am dead set against free agency. It can ruin baseball." After Catfish Hunter was released from his A's contract in 1974, the Yankees paid him the unheard-of salary of $2.85 million for four years. He signed Reggie Jackson after the team won the AL pennant in 1976, and the move was largely responsible for back-to-back World Championships in 1977-78. However, in that period Steinbrenner had solid baseball minds such as Al Rosen and Gabe Paul in the front office making trades like the one that brought Graig Nettles and Chris Chambliss from Cleveland, and also refusing to trade Ron Guidry. Steinbrenner's initial success purchasing free agents led to a tendency to overstock the team with superstars to the point where there wasn't room in the lineup for them all. His preference for name players came from the conviction that "you measure the value of a ballplayer by how many fannies he puts in the seats." The departure of general managers nearly matched the turnover of managers and apparently was accompanied by a corresponding lack of GM control over major decisions. A series of disastrous acquisitions in the early 1980s (Ed Whitson, John Mayberry, Doyle Alexander, Mike Armstrong) was made worse by a steady stream of departing stars escaping from what had been dubbed The Bronx Zoo. From 1979 through the end of the next decade, the Yankees won only one more pennant, in the strike-split 1981 season; the 1980s were the first decade since the 1910s in which the Yankees did not win a World Championship. (SH)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » March 22, 1972: Nick Mileti, owner of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, heads a group that purchases the Cleveland Indians from Vernon Stouffer for an estimated $9 million. Stouffer had turned down an offer from George Steinbrenner to buy the team, but when the AL owners reject his proposal to have the Indians play some of their games in the New Orleans Superdome, Stouffer decides to sell the team. » January 3, 1973: A group of investors, headed by shipbuilder George Steinbrenner, purchases the New York Yankees from CBS for $10 million. » April 6, 1974: The Yankees open their two-year stay at Shea Stadium before a crowd of 20,744. 12-year-old Teddy Kennedy, Jr., flanked by his father and Mayor Abe Beame, tosses out the first ball. Missing from the ceremony is George Steinbrenner, indicted two days ago for illegal campaign contributions. Graig Nettles' two-run homer in the 4th off the Indians Gaylord Perry opens the scoring and the Yanks score four more times to win, 6–1. Charlie Spikes scores the only Cleveland run in the 9th following a triple off starter and winner Mel Stottlemyre. Perry, who is warned once for an illegal pitch, is the loser today, but he will win his next 15 decisions. » November 27, 1974: Bowie Kuhn suspend Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for two years as a result of Steinbrenner's conviction for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon and others. » October 28, 1979: George Steinbrenner announces that Billy Martin is fired again as a result of his recent barroom fight. Dick Howser is named to replace him. » October 25, 1981: After his club loses game five of the World Series, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner scuffles with two (he says) fans in a hotel elevator and emerges with a fat lip and a broken hand. » April 25, 1982: Just 14 games into the season, George Steinbrenner fires manager Bob Lemon and replaces him with Gene Michael, the man Lemon had replaced last September. » August 3, 1982: The White Sox sweep a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium 1–0 and 14–2, prompting Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to fire manager Gene Michael and replace him with pitching coach Clyde King. King is the Yankees' 3rd manager this season. » January 11, 1983: For the 3rd time in eight years, George Steinbrenner hires Billy Martin as Yankee manager. Martin replaces Clyde King, who will move to the front office. » May 31, 1983: American League President Lee MacPhail suspends Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for one week, citing "repeated problems" with the outspoken owner's public criticism of umpires. Steinbrenner, who had been fined $50,000 by Commissioner Kuhn during spring training for berating some National League umpires, cannot attend games or be in his Yankee Stadium office during the suspension. » December 16, 1983: George Steinbrenner fires Billy Martin as manager of the Yankees for the 3rd time, replacing him with Yogi Berra and giving Martin a front-office job. » April 28, 1985: After the Yankees lose to the White Sox 4–3 on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 9th, manager Yogi Berra is replaced by Billy Martin, who begins his 4th term in the job. The bad news is delivered to Yogi by pitching coach Clyde King, and a furious Berra vows to never set foot in Yankee Stadium as long as George Steinbrenner is the owner. » June 23, 1988: George Steinbrenner fires Billy Martin for the 5th time, replacing him with Lou Piniella. In 1985, Piniella was fired and replaced by Martin. In 1985, Martin was fired and replaced by Piniella. New York's 40-28 record is the 4th best in the big leagues, but the Yankees had just completed a 2-7 road trip. » August 18, 1989: Dallas Green is fired as manager of the Yankees and replaced by former SS Bucky Dent. It is the 17th time the Yankees have changed managers since George Steinbrenner took over the club in 1973. » December 25, 1989: Billy Martin, former infielder and 5-time manager of the Yankees, dies in a car accident in Johnson City, New York at the age of 61. Martin will be buried in Gates of Heaven cemetery in Valhalla, New York in a plot near Babe Ruth's. George Steinbrenner, who fired Martin four times (he resigned the 5th time) purchases the plot. » May 11, 1990: Citing a no-trade clause in his contract, Yankee OF Dave Winfield refuses to report to the Angels after being traded for Mike Witt. Winfield will eventually accept the trade on May 16th, ending his often stormy relationship with Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. » July 30, 1990: In a surprisingly harsh ruling, Commissioner Fay Vincent orders Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to resign as the club's general partner by August 20th and bans him from day-to-day operation of the team for life. The ruling is a result of Steinbrenner's $40,000 payment to confessed gambler Howie Spira for damaging information about since-traded Yankee star Dave Winfield. » May 8, 1991: Howard Spira is found guilty of trying to extort money from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Spira had already received $40,000 from Steinbrenner. » December 10, 1991: Admitted gambler Howard Spira is sentenced to two 1/2 years in prison for attempting to extort $110,000 from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. » March 12, 1992: Yankees VP and chief administrative officer Joseph Molloy, son-in-law of principal owner George Steinbrenner, is elected as new managing general partner of the club. » April 24, 1992: Former Yankees vice president Leonard Kleinman drops his $30 million lawsuit against baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent. The suit had been one of the obstacles standing in the way of George Steinbrenner's reinstatement with the Yankees. » July 24, 1992: Commissioner Fay Vincent announces that George Steinbrenner can resume active control of the Yankees on March 1, 1993. » March 1, 1993: George Steinbrenner resumes his role as general partner of the Yankees following his suspension from baseball because of his dealings with gambler Howard Spira. » October 10, 1995: Yankee owner George Steinbrenner is fined $50,000 for criticizing the umpiring in the NY-Seattle playoff series. » May 13, 1997: Baseball's executive council votes unanimously to immediately remove George Steinbrenner from the ruling body. This is the latest salvo between the two parties since the Yankee owner sued ML baseball over disagreements regarding the club's 10-year $93 million Adidas deal. » August 30, 1997: Yankee P David Wells strikes a familiar note as he threatens to punch out owner George Steinbrenner during a clubhouse argument. Reportedly, the argument began after the team's 7-2 loss to the Expos, when a play occurred that was similar to last year's ALCS. This time it was against the Yankees; Darrin Fletcher's gets a home run when a fan in right field reaches over and snagged the ball before Paul O'Neill could catch it. Wells opined to Steinbrenner that extra security should be added in RF to prevent this sort of thing, George answered that Wells ought to stick to his pitching. When Wells said that Steinbrenner could trade him, the owner answered that no one wanted the lefty. It was then that Wells joined the ranks of earlier Yankees who have wanted to flatten the feisty owner. » April 1, 1999: No joke. Enraged that P Hideki Irabu fails to cover 1B on a ground ball hit during an exhibition game, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner calls him a "fat pussy toad." Steinbrenner will later apologize to Irabu.