LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of legendary New York Yankees
owner George Steinbrenner

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to the
lives of those esteemed individuals of world renown who distinguished
themselves through their life's work; and
WHEREAS, George Michael Steinbrenner III, owner of Major League Base-
ball's New York Yankees, died on Tuesday, July 13, 2010; he was known as
a hands-on executive, earning the nickname "The Boss"; and
WHEREAS, During George Steinbrenner's ownership from 1973 up until his
death, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned 11 pennants and
seven World Series titles; no one can deny the fact that George Stein-
brenner stands alone as perhaps the most successful owner in all of
professional sports; and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner, who bought a declining Yankees team in
1973, promised to stay out of its daily affairs and then, in an often
tumultuous reign, placed his formidable stamp on seven World Series
championship teams, 11 pennant winners and a sporting world powerhouse;
and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner was a visionary and a giant in the world
of sports; he took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a
champion again; his death came nine months after the Yankees won their
first World Series title since 2000, clinching their six-game victory
over the Philadelphia Phillies at his new Yankee Stadium; and
WHEREAS, Having emerged as one of the most powerful, influential exec-
utives in sports, George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner and
chairman, had ceded increasing authority to his sons, Hal and Hank, who
became co-chairmen in May of 2008; Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees' manag-
ing general partner as well, was given control of the team in November
of 2008 in a unanimous vote by the major league club owners, who acted
on his father's request; and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner was the central figure in a syndicate
that originally bought the New York Yankees from CBS for $10 million; in
2005, the Yankees became the second American League team to top the four
million mark in home attendance, drawing a league-record 4,090,696;
their home attendance rose during the next three years, reaching a leag-
ue-record 4,298,655 in 2008; and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner helped many charities and individuals in
need; as a board member for the historically black Grambling State
University in Louisiana, he was one of their primary fund-raisers; and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner, who was vice president of the United
States Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1996, viewed himself as a patriot
born on July 4, 1930; he continued to have "God Bless America" played
during the seventh-inning stretch at Yankee Stadium which began after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and other teams have since discontinued the
measure; and
WHEREAS, George Michael Steinbrenner III, named for a grandfather, was
born the oldest of three children, and reared in the Cleveland suburb of
Bay Village; his father, Henry Steinbrenner, graduated from the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in naval architecture and
engineering and starred as a collegiate hurdler before taking over the
family's maritime shipping business; and
WHEREAS, In April of 2010, Forbes magazine estimated the New York
Yankees' value at $1.6 billion; in building it into a fabulously
successful and exceedingly lucrative enterprise, George Steinbrenner
never lost sight of his credo; as he told THE NEW YORK TIMES in 1998: "I
hate to lose. Hate, hate, hate to lose."; and

WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner's sporting interests extended beyond
baseball; prior to the Yankees, he was an assistant football coach at
Northwestern and Purdue Universities in the 1950s and was part of the
group that bought the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League
in the 1960s; he was also a vice president of the U.S. Olympic Committee
from 1989-96 and entered six horses in the Kentucky Derby; and
WHEREAS, Under George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees reached the
World Series on 10 occasions and won three straight championships from
1998-2000; those particular titles started a run in which the Yankees
won the AL East crown every season through 2006; and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner gave millions to charity, often with one
stipulation, that no one be told who made the donation; he was a true
asset to society; and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner liked to quote military figures and saw
games as an extension of war; therefore, it was no surprise that in the
tunnel leading from the Yankees' clubhouse to the field, he had a sign
posted with a saying from General Douglas MacArthur: "There is no
substitute for victory."; and
WHEREAS, George Steinbrenner is survived by his beloved wife, Joan,
his sisters, Susan and Judy, his children, Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and
Hal as well as all of his grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit, imbued with a sense of
compassion, and comforted by a loving family, George Steinbrenner's life
was a portrait of service, a legacy which will long endure the passage
of time and will remain as a comforting memory to all he served and
befriended; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of George Steinbrenner.