George Steinbrenner Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: George Steinbrenner
OCCUPATION: Business Leader
BIRTH DATE: July 04, 1930
DEATH DATE: July 13, 2010
EDUCATION: Culver Military Academy, Williams College, Ohio State University
PLACE OF BIRTH: Rocky River, Ohio
PLACE OF DEATH: Tampa, Florida

Best Known For

Owner of the New York Yankees from 1972 until his death, George Steinbrenner was one of the most notorious team owners in baseball history.

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George Steinbrenner

APA Style

George Steinbrenner. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:29, May 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100.

Harvard Style

George Steinbrenner. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100 [Accessed 20 May 2013].

MLA Style

"George Steinbrenner." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 20 2013, 10:29 http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100.

MHRA Style

"George Steinbrenner," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100 [accessed May 20, 2013].

Chicago Style

"George Steinbrenner," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100 (accessed May 20, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

George Steinbrenner [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100.

Bluebook Style

George Steinbrenner, http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100 (last visited May 20, 2013).

AMA Style

George Steinbrenner. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/george-steinbrenner-583100. Accessed May 20, 2013.

Synopsis

Born in Ohio in 1930, George Steinbrenner became one of the most notorious baseball team owners in sports history in the decades following his 1972 purchase of the New York Yankees. He was barred from baseball in 1990 due to a financial scandal but later earned reinstatement and remained involved in management of the Yankees until his death.

Early Life

Entrepreneur. Born George Michael Steinbrenner III on July 4, 1930, in Rocky River, Ohio. His mother, Rita, was a devout Christian Scientist with Irish ancestry, while his father, Henry, was a strict disciplinarian. While Steinbrenner was closer to his mother emotionally, his father dominated the young man's life. Henry refused to accept failure in George or George's siblings, and pushed them to succeed at any cost. As a former track-and-field star and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus, Henry's work ethic was also unparalleled, and he constantly urged George to "always work as hard as, or harder, than anyone who works for you."

The Steinbrenner family lived a comfortable, upper-middle class lifestyle in Cleveland, thanks to Henry's job as the head of Kinsman Marine Transit Company, which managed shipping freighters in the Midwest. Yet George never coasted on his family's money. Instead of allowance, George's father paid him in chickens. At the age of 9, George started the George Company, and sold eggs door to door. Within five years, the successful business became the S & J Company, which he passed on to his sisters Susan and Judy when he headed to Culver Military Academy in 1944.

After graduating from Culver, Steinbrenner attended Williams College in Massachusetts. While he didn't quite excel academically, Steinbrenner followed in his father's footsteps as a track and field star. He also served as the sports editor of the paper, played in the band, and ran the glee club. He earned his bachelor's degree in English in 1952, and headed to the military shortly after.

Steinbrenner entered the United States Air Force, where he landed an assignment in his home state of Ohio, at Lockbourne Air Force Base. As a second lieutenant, he headed the sports program at Lockbourne and set up a coffee stand business that grew to six pick-up trucks.

Passion for Sports

After his 1954 discharge, Steinbrenner spent a year at Ohio State University studying for a master's degree in physical education. While there, he began a brief career as an assistant football coach, with stints at Northwestern and Purdue universities. But after receiving pressure from his disappointed father, Steinbrenner returned to Cleveland to work in the family shipping business.

Still passionate about sports, Steinbrenner rebelled against his father in 1960, when he bought the minor league basketball team, the Cleveland Pipers, for $125,000. The investment proved to be a poor one; in less than two years, the Pipers collapsed, losing Steinbrenner more than $25 million.