Ozzie Guillen once said of his catcher, A.J. Pierzynski ... when he's on the other team you really hate him .... And when he's on your team .. you kinda hate him a little less.... The exact opposite might have been said about former Yankees owner George Michael Steinbrenner, III. I'm pretty sure just about everyone in baseball hated him, but the people who hated him more than everyone else in baseball were Yankees players, staff, and workers. His nickname "George III" was clearly a reference to the mentally unstable British king whose refusal to share power inspired a popular uprising of the people, and Steinbrenner embraced that persona!
However, like all true power-hungry, madman villains, we learn that reality is more complex than simple black and white cartoonish villainy. The real George Steinbrenner was even occasionally known to be nice and warm, and charitable, and he preferred to keep that part of him secret.
Here are 12 questions about one of the strangest, most powerful, most infuriating, characters to have walked the stage of Major League Baseball.
| Rank | Player | Total | %ile | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money Value (% Incorrect): | 73 | 28 | 14 | 23 | 10 | 50 | 37 | 00 | 05 | 19 | 32 | 60 | |||
| 1 | KaufmanK | 351 | 97 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 10 |
15 50 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 32 |
15 60 |
| 2 | PeskinK | 313 | 93 |
00 |
15 |
15 14 |
15 23 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 32 |
15 60 |
| 3 | BurgerM | 282 | 88 |
00 |
00 |
15 14 |
00 |
15 |
00 |
15 37 |
15 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 32 |
15 60 |
| 4 | WeikleB | 281 | 84 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
00 |
15 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
15 19 |
15 32 |
15 60 |
| 5 | HightB | 274 | 79 |
00 00 |
15 28 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 |
00 |
15 37 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
00 |
15 60 |
| 6 | SpoeriJ | 267 | 75 |
15 |
15 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 |
00 |
15 37 |
15 00 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 32 |
15 |
| 7 | GoodmanDL | 236 | 70 |
00 |
15 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 |
15 50 |
15 37 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
00 00 |
00 00 |
| 8 | GrahamJ | 234 | 65 |
15 |
15 28 |
15 14 |
15 23 |
00 |
15 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 |
15 |
| 9 | MatthewsP | 222 | 61 |
00 |
15 |
15 14 |
00 |
15 |
00 |
15 37 |
15 00 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 32 |
00 |
| 10 | randalleng | 221 | 56 |
00 |
15 28 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 10 |
15 |
15 |
15 00 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 |
00 |
| 11 | JWright | 218 | 52 |
00 |
15 |
15 14 |
00 |
15 10 |
15 50 |
15 |
15 |
15 05 |
15 19 |
00 |
00 |
| 12 | RichmondJ | 210 | 47 |
15 73 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
15 10 |
00 |
15 |
15 |
15 05 |
00 |
15 32 |
00 00 |
| 13 | ConnorA | 206 | 43 |
00 |
15 28 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 10 |
00 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 |
15 19 |
15 |
15 |
| 14 | BeanA | 205 | 38 |
00 |
15 28 |
15 14 |
15 23 |
00 |
15 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
| 15 | BoyerA | 190 | 34 |
00 |
00 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 37 |
15 00 |
15 |
15 19 |
00 00 |
00 |
| 16 | LangeS17 | 171 | 27 |
00 |
15 |
00 |
15 |
15 10 |
00 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
15 19 |
15 32 |
00 |
| 16 | Neil | 171 | 27 |
00 |
15 28 |
15 14 |
00 |
15 |
15 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
15 19 |
00 |
00 |
| 18 | HulkaE | 168 | 20 |
00 |
15 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 10 |
15 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
15 19 |
00 |
00 |
| 19 | FrankensteinP | 166 | 13 |
15 |
00 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 10 |
00 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
00 |
15 32 |
00 |
| 19 | ChrisRosenberg | 166 | 13 |
00 |
00 |
15 14 |
15 23 |
15 |
00 |
00 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
15 19 |
15 |
00 |
| 21 | BeningoS | 132 | 6 |
00 |
15 |
00 |
15 |
15 10 |
00 |
15 |
15 00 |
00 |
00 00 |
15 32 |
00 00 |
| 22 | AllenJ | 124 | 2 |
00 00 |
00 |
15 14 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 00 |
15 05 |
00 00 |
00 |
00 |
Steinbrenner's father (Henry George, II) was a collegiate champion track and field athlete. From which East Coast school, perhaps, literally, the last school one would expect to find a champion athlete, did George II graduate from?
George III was an assistant football coach at both Northwestern and Purdue after serving as a graduate assistant in 1954 for which Big 10 coaching immortal. who that year led his team to an undefeated AP National Championship after winning the Rose Bowl?
After a stint in the Air Force and college, Steinbrenner joined the family business. He later bought out the rest of his family and begin buying competitors. The family business was headquartered in Cleveland. In what general field of business was Steinbrenner originally engaged in?
George III's first venture into owning an athletic team was the Cleveland Pipers. While owner, Steinbrenner hired John McLendon as the team's head coach, making McLendon the first African-American to head coach in a professional league of what sport?
George III also briefly dabbled in Broadway, and one musical he financially backed, Seesaw, actually got a Tony nomination for Best Musical. Here's a little irony: the star of Seesaw was an actor named Ken Howard whose best known stage role was Thomas Jefferson. In which musical did Howard play Thomas Jefferson, a musical about a bunch of guys who have some problems with King George III?
When it came to hiring and firing, there was no show in sports quite like the George Steinbrenner-Billy Martin saga. How many different times was Martin hired as manager by the Yankees on Steinbrenner's watch?
Billy and George couldn't stay mad at each other for long. In fact, shortly after Martin resigned the first time in 1978, the pair filmed a commercial. This commercial was even amended when Martin was rehired in 1979. For what company did Martin and Steinbrenner shill for with the commercial ending with Steinbrenner informing Martin You're fired and Martin responding Not again (it was later amended to Steinbrenner saying You're hired.
Billy Martin's first departure from the Yankees (a resignation to avoid being fired) was spurred when Martin famously said The two were meant for each other. One's a born liar, and the other's convicted.. The "convicted" person was Steinbrenner. Who was the "born liar"? Martin and this man nearly killed each other in a dugout fight on 18 June 1977 after Martin pulled this man off the field. Who is this man whose list of nicknames include "The Straw Who Stirs the Drink"?
Martin's reference to Steinbrenner being a convict refers to Steinbrenner's conviction on obstruction of justice related to illegal campaign contributions made to this man.
As the Yankees folded in September 1985, Steinbrenner gave an interview with New York Times writer Murray Chass. This is a famous excerpt from that interview:
We need a Mr. October or a Mr. September. _____ is Mr. May. My big guys are not coming through. The guys who are supposed to carry the team are not carrying the team. They aren't producing. If I don't get big performances out of _____, Griffey and Baylor, we can't win.
Which player's name fills in the blank?
Steinbrenner eventually hired a gambler to dig up dirt on the player who is the answer to question #10, and when this became public in 1990, Commissioner of Baseball Fay Vincent reached an agreement to not suspend Steinbrenner in return for Steinbrenner's guarantee to permanently relinquish daily control of the Yankees. Steinbrenner needed to avoid suspension because he was vice-chairman of this non-baseball committee from 1989-96, an organization which named a leadership award in his honor. Name this sporting organization which in reecent years finally settled a decades long row over media and sponsorship compensation with an international organization.
In 2003, the Yankees lost the World Series to the Marlins (darn!). This loss was tough on Steinbrenner because, had the Yankees won, Steinbrenner would have been a co-owner of two championship teams in the same year. Which team did Steibrenner have a minority ownership in, that won the 2003 Stanley Cup?