George Steinbrenner dies at 80

[1979Shocker]

Steinbrenner dies after massive heart attack

NEW YORK - George Steinbrenner, who rebuilt the New York Yankees into a sports empire with a mix of bluster and big bucks that polarized fans all across America, died Tuesday. He had just celebrated his 80th birthday July 4.

[WuDrWu]

Taken from the Yahoo article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100713/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_obit_steinbrenner

"He sometimes read about high school athletes who had been injured and sent them money to go to college. He paid for the medical school expenses of Ron Karnaugh after the swimmer's father died during the opening ceremony at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Steinbrenner kept older friends from his football days on the payroll, had a way of rehiring those he had once fired and liked to give second chances to people who had fallen from favor, such as Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.

"I'm really 95 percent Mr. Rogers," Steinbrenner said as he approached his 75th birthday, "and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch."

Steinbrenner's beneficence extended beyond sports.

He pledged $1 million to a Florida orchestra in 1995 and mandated that $265,000 go to a pops series.

"I like Tchaikovsky as much as the next guy," he said, "but in this area I think people would rather hear pops concerts, and good ones." "



George will be vilified among many and adored by New Yorkers. I think, while you may detest what his actions did to the game, and how he handled SOME things publicly, his contributions to society were many and more than substantial and cannot be diminished.

I suspect over the next few months and years we will hear much more about the legacy of the Boss.

[BenWSU]

When you have the best team money can buy, you should get a few championships.

Thats what has ruined baseball.