Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner dies
Yankees general partner and co-chairperson Hank Steinbrenner died Tuesday at age 63 after a long battle with illness, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to NJ Advance Media.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman first reported the news. Steinbrenner died at his Clearwater, Fla., home and his death wasn’t coronavirus-related, the person said.
Steinbrenner was the son of late owner George Steinbrenner and brother of Hal Steinbrenner, who currently runs the Yankees’ day-to-day operations.
Hank Steinbrenner was set to take over as the lead voice in the organization after George Steinbrenner’s involvement began to fade in 2007 (he died in 2010). But Hal’s role grew larger and he eventually became the face of the organization’s leadership.
“He was just a really, really good man," longtime friend Ray Negron said in a phone call Tuesday morning. “One of the best people I ever met in my life.”
George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees from CBS for $8.7 million in 1973. “It’s the best buy in sports today," Steinbrenner told the New York Times after the sell was made public. "I think it’s a bargain.”
Last week, the Yankees ranked No. 1 on Forbes’ list of most valuable MLB franchises with an estimated value of $5 billion. It’s the 23rd consecutive year Forbes ranked the Yankees as its top club.
Not much has changed since Steinbrenner’s children began running the Yankees. They’re still an annual American League power and still always among baseball’s biggest spenders (see the record-setting nine-year, $324 million contract signed by Gerrit Cole in December).
There is one big thing missing since the Steinbrenner children began running the Yankees – championships. They’ve been to the playoffs a lot and advanced to the American League Championship Series twice in the last three seasons, but haven’t been to the World Series since they won their last one in 2009.
In February, Hal Steinbrenner was asked if his family would ever sell the club during a WFAN radio interview with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts.
“The third generation is now involved,” Steinbrenner responded. “They’re involved big-time. So there are no plans to sell the team, and I get asked that a lot.”
The pressure is on the Yankees to win again soon though, because they just completed a full decade without playing in a World Series for the first time since the 1910s.
“We feel that pressure every year,” Steinbrenner said. “We know our fans expect that every year, to win a championship and be a contender. So it’s not going to be any more pressure for me. I know it’s not going to be any more pressure for the coaches and players.
“But it’s important every year, and clearly we have had championship-caliber teams the last few years and haven’t quite got it done. So from that standpoint, we’re going to be focused even more than usual, and that’s certainly in the back of our minds. We’ve got to do everything we can to make it happen.”
Here is the Yankees’ press release announcing the death of Hank Steinbrenner:
The New York Yankees mourn the passing of General Partner and Co-Chairperson Henry G. “Hank” Steinbrenner, who passed away earlier today at his home in Clearwater, Fla., from a longstanding health issue. Mr. Steinbrenner was 63.
“Hank was a genuine and gentle spirit who treasured the deep relationships he formed with those closest to him,” said the Steinbrenner family. “He was introduced to the Yankees organization at a very young age, and his love for sports and competition continued to burn brightly throughout his life. Hank could be direct and outspoken, but in the very same conversation show great tenderness and light-heartedness. More than anything, he set an example for all of us in how comfortably he lived enjoying his personal passions and pursuits. We are profoundly saddened to have lost him and will carry his memory with us always.”
Born April 2, 1957, and raised in his birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Steinbrenner was the eldest of four children by former Yankees Principal Owner George M. Steinbrenner III and his wife, Joan (pronounced Jo-Ann).
Mr. Steinbrenner was in his 13th season as a General Partner of the New York Yankees and his 11th season as Co-Chairperson of the club. Along with Managing General Partner / Co-Chairperson Hal Steinbrenner, Hank was responsible for overseeing all areas of the club’s business and baseball operations, and was directly involved in player negotiations, long-term player recruitment goals and overall club strategy.
He spent many decades passionately involved in the breeding, raising and racing of horses, serving as a Vice President and Director of Bay Farms Corporation since 1985 and as a longtime member of the board of the Ocala Breeders Sales Company.
Mr. Steinbrenner attended Culver Military Academy and Central Methodist College in Missouri. Over the course of his career, he held additional roles as chairman of Minch Transit Company and vice president of Mid-Florida Hotels Corporation. In 2000, he coordinated a multi-year partnership with Gwynn Racing to field a Gwynn/Steinbrenner top fuel Yankees dragster on the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing Tour.
Joined by his son George Michael Steinbrenner IV, Mr. Steinbrenner reentered the world of competitive racing in 2016, contributing to the formation of Steinbrenner Racing. After participating two seasons in the Indy Lights developmental circuit in 2017 and 2018, the group announced a partnership with Harding Racing in September 2018. The new team began racing in 2019 as Harding Steinbrenner Racing, competing on the IndyCar circuit with George Michael as the youngest team owner in IndyCar history. Just two races into its first season in IndyCar, the team took the checkered flag on March 24, 2019, at the Circuit of Americas in Austin, Tex., as George Michael became the youngest owner to win a race in the history of the IndyCar Series. At the conclusion of the year, the team announced it was uniting with Andretti Autosport to race under the Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport banner in 2020.
At the time of his passing, Mr. Steinbrenner served on the boards of the YES Network and Gold Shield Foundation and was involved in a number of not-for-profit causes and children’s charities in New York and Tampa Bay, including The Joshua House, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Gigi’s Playhouse Tampa, The Children’s Dream Fund and the New York Yankees charitable foundations.
He is survived by four children, daughters Jacqueline and Julia, and sons George Michael IV and John, one granddaughter, Anabel, and his siblings, Jennifer, Jessica and Hal, and their families.
During this time of mourning, the family respectfully asks for the privacy needed to grieve this tremendous loss.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Friends of Joshua House Foundation (
www.friendsofjoshuahouse .org; P.O. Box 26333, Tampa, FL 33623, 813-263-3469) or to a charity of one’s choosing.
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