New York Yankees

On January 3, 1973 George Michael Steinbrenner, and minority group of partners, purchased the New York Yankees.

From the time he took control of the team to the time of his death, Steinbrenner has never shied away from the spotlight. He brought the team back to the dominance the franchise prided themselves on.

Steinbrenner's 30 years of ownership were dominating. It makes him not only the best owner in baseball history, but also the most influential man in Yankees history.

Many men have donned the Yankees pinstripes.

If I win the lottery, I want to buy a sports team.

Be it the Orlando Titans, the Orlando Predators, an MLS franchise or, if I had the money, the Orlando Magic.

And I would invest all my money to make them the greatest team ever.

Just like George Steinbrenner.

In 1973, George Steinbrenner did what every die-hard sports fan wishes they could do. He used the fortune he made in his father's shipping business and bought his favorite team. That team happened to be the New York Yankees.

Not by himself initially, but eventually, he would own it all.

He spent big. He won big.

George Steinbrenner reshaped baseball and one of its most prized franchises when he took over the New York Yankees in 1973. The Yankees responded to his leadership by winning seven World Series titles during his reign.

Two days after the Yankees lost their long time friend and announcer Bob Sheppard, they have another loss to mourn. George Steinbrenner passed away this morning from a heart-attack, leaving years of success and an empire behind.

Reports are now surfacing after early morning accounts that New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died at the age of 80 years old.

According to reports, Steinbrenner was rushed to a Tampa hospital after emergency personnel had responded to a call at his home on Monday night.

Steinbrenner told the Associated Press in an interview last week that he was feeling fine even after just celebrating his eightieth birthday on July 4th.

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died today of a heart attack.  He was 80.

Steinbrenner, who took ownership of the Yankees in 1973, saw his team win seven World Series and 11 American League Pennants.

The Yankees owner was well known for his ability to get big names to come play for his historic club and he often spent whatever amount of money was necessary to get the players he wanted. 

Steinbrenner's sons, Hank and Hal having been running the team since George's retirement in 2006.

Update: (9:15pm CDT) According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post , via Twitter , Steinbrenner was admitted to the hospital late Monday night for a procedure and had a heart attack early this morning while already at the hospital.

Update: (8:53am CDT) According to sources close to the Steinbrenner family, George Steinbrenner passed away this morning due to a massive heart attack. He was 80-years old.

The New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner III, was rushed to the hospital in Florida. This is the latest from New York's ABC affiliate, Eyewitness News, whom was the first to report that the Yankees owner was rushed to St. Joseph's hospital. 

The Boss' condition is still unknown and the entire Yankees Universe is praying that he is recovering well. The man is 80 years old, but he remains young in the hearts and minds of all Yankee fans that had a chance to see him run the team to several championships. 

The Yanks enter the 2010 All-Star break with the best record in baseball and are on pace for 103 victories. But the big news in Yankeeland this past week was the non-trade for Cliff Lee. Since that deal fell through, ESPN Insider is reporting that a Yanks deal for Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly “has legs.” What I don’t understand is the Yanks’ sudden obsession with starting pitching. Yes, yes, there are those old pitching adages:

Pitching wins championships.
You can never have enough pitching.

The first half of Baseball is done and the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees are sitting on top of the very competitive American League East with an uncomfortable two-game lead.

The Yankees (56-32) are just edging the Tampa Bay Rays (54-34), General Hospital a.k.a. the Boston Red Sox (there is no need to mention the other two).

This morning, I logged into Twitter and saw on the top of my news feed that legendary Yankees announcer Bob Sheppard had died at the age of 99.

Although I just started getting into baseball a year or two ago, I felt saddened by this loss.