LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of legendary owner

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 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 ; 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; , 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 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 Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1996, viewed himself as a patriot born on July 4, 1930; he continued to have "" 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 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 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 of the American 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.