50 years ago, the New York Yankees‘ history changed forever.
It was the first time that George Steinbrenner had some sort of decision-making power in the Yankees’ future: he was a part of a group of investors acquiring the successful MLB franchise.
“50 Years Ago Today: George Steinbrenner and a group of investors buy the New York #Yankees for the bargain price of $10,000,000! George’s name doesn’t make the headlines, but that won’t last for long! (January 3, 1973),” Baseball by BSmile tweeted.
He always loved the sports franchise world, but was also into theater.
His big break came in the early seventies, when he was part of the group that acquired the Bombers from CBS in 1973.
E. Michael Burke was behind the wheel at the time, but that would change eventually.
An internal breakdown made Burke step down from the team president position, and that’s when Steinbrenner took full control.
He became famous for his quick hook on managers, and for being impatient and not fearless at the time of bringing in reinforcements.
The Yankees had been scuffling for quite some time: they hadn’t won a World Series since 1964.
They made the Fall Classic in 1976 under Steinbrenner, but were swept.
They would return to win back-to-back Series in 1977 and 1978, though.
“The Boss” lived long enough to see his Yankees win five additional Fall Classics in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009 before dying in 2010.
He was one of the most influential figures in Yankees history, and in baseball in general.
Yankees fans loved him, and other team’s supporters hated him: there was no middle ground when it comes to “The Boss.”
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