Farewell to "The Boss"

"I will never have a heart attack. I give them."

Those are the words of George Steinbrenner, the volatile owner of the New York Yankees since 1973, who ironically died of a heart attack this morning just days after his 80th birthday.

Those words also sum up how difficult is was to work for the only sports owner in history who put winning above everything, no matter what or who he left in his wake. In his first 23 years as Yankee owner, he changed managers 20 times, and had feuds with numerous Yankee managers, players and coaches, including Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson and Lou Piniella, just to name a few.

Was he a bad boss? Absolutely. But was he a bad guy? Not a chance.

If George was such a bad guy, why would Billy Martin return to manage the Yankees FOUR times? Why would Reggie Jackson continue to work for the Yankee organization to this day? And why would Lou Piniella have referred to Steinbrenner today as a "father figure"?

Steinbrenner was simply obsessed with winning. So much so that it strained the relationships he had with the people he loved. And make no mistake, he loved Billy, Thurman, Reggie, Lou and countless other employees. It's just that when the Yankees lost, George lost it. Even though no team could win the World Series EVERY year, that was George's expectation. And if the goal wasn't met, someone had to pay.

After every one of his firings, Steinbrenner felt bad. So bad he usually offered the fired manager a different job the very next day. And when he ran a player out of town, as he did with Reggie Jackson, he always regretted it and brought the player back in some way, shape or form.

For the employees that worked for him, dealing with Steinbrenner every day must have been a nightmare. But for the fans of the New York Yankees, you couldn't ask for a better owner. You always knew George was going to do whatever it took to win, and as a fan, what more could you ask for?

In the 1990's and 2000's, as George grew older, he softened quite a bit, changing managers less frequently, and berating players much less often. But he never lost that undying will to win.

There will never again be a sports owner quite like George Steinbrenner. His sons Hal and Hank may have the reigns of the franchise now, but they'll never have the "win or else" passion of their late, great father.

Thanks for the 7 World Series titles, George! And thanks for 37 years of winning baseball. You will be missed.