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George Steinbrenner, for better or worse, stepped in as the face of the New York Yankees franchise when he led a group with E. Michael Burke and others to buy the franchise from CBS in 1973. It would be the launching pad to return the Yankees to relevancy in the years to come.
However, Mike Vaccaro wrote in his new book, “The Bosses of the Bronx,” that the Steinbrenner group wasn’t thought to have been the favorite to buy the team. Vaccaro wrote that a Lehman Brothers-led contingent with former New York Giants catcher Herman Franks set to run the team.
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New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner signs autographs in the stands during a 1993 spring training game at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. (USA TODAY Sports)
Franks had already been courting Willie Mays as the team’s potential manager, according to Vaccaro. Mays would have been the first African American manager if the deal had been made. He would have been a season ahead of Frank Robinson, who made his debut in the role on April 8, 1975.
There were also rumblings, according to Vaccaro, about the team possibly being courted to a new stadium in New Jersey that would have had a fresh look compared to the crumbling Yankee Stadium that was hoping for city funding to make integral repairs.
Stunningly enough, the Steinbrenner group bought the Yankees for just over $10 million when the Lehman Brothers’ group reportedly offered between $13.5 million and $14 million. It was the last time a baseball team was ever sold at a loss.
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner signs autographs before their game with the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium on June 14, 1997. (USA TODAY Sports)
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“This is the best buy in sports today. I think it’s a bargain,” Steinbrenner said at his introductory press conference, Vaccaro’s book recalled.
Steinbrenner made clear that the Yankees would stay in New York and not be swayed with a shiny new stadium in the Meadowlands where the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets would go on to play. Vaccaro wrote that Lehman Brothers “absolutely committed” to leaving the Bronx for Jersey, which turned out to be a “deal-breaker” for CBS.
The net purchase for the Yankees ended up being about $8.8 million as the deal included two parking garages that CBS bought back for $1.2 million after the deal was closed.
Yankees manager Joe Torre (left) and owner George Steinbrenner talk before the start of the third game of the World Series at Shea Stadium in New York on Oct. 24, 2000. (Eileen Blass/USA TODAY/USA TODAY NETWORK)
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From 1973 until Steinbrenner’s death in July 2010, the Yankees won seven World Series titles.
The Yankees are valued at approximately $9 billion today.
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