George Steinbrenner

Steinbrenner, the owner other franchise owners loved to hate, will long be remembered for his hawkish, controversial and demanding style of doing business. Yet to the New York Yankee fan, despite copious disagreements with his style, appreciated him for always keeping their beloved Yankees an all-star team.

Sure, the Yankees had a great tradition prior to Steinbrenner; and you can say what you want about him, but all he has done is to make the Yankees the most storied franchise in all of North American sports and perhaps the world. Steinbrenner, known as The Boss, always operated through a sense of urgency (wanting to win now). He was relentless in his pursuit of making his club the best team in the league and would spare no amount of money to do so.

With The Boss at the helm, the Yankees were not only baseball’s biggest draw, but they were also the most loved, hated, celebrated and feared team, making them the envy of every franchise in sports. Now, playing for the Yankees is the hallmark of a successful baseball career.

It was not just on the field that The Boss enjoyed success. He took a franchise, which he bought for 8.8 million dollars in 1973, to a reported net worth of over a billion dollars today.

Love him or hate him, till the end of time, The Boss may be remembered as the most successful owner in all of America’s sports. He will be sure to take his rightful place amongst the gods of franchise owners.

Rest in peace George.