REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine RFS/CCK
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died Tuesday morning after suffering a massive heart attack, his spokesman said.
The Associated Press reported Steinbrenner, 80, died after being rushed to a Tampa, Fla. hospital. The New York Daily News said doctors pronounced Steinbrenner dead at 6:30 a.m.
Steinbrenner bought the Yankees from CBS for $10 million in 1973. The franchise is now worth $1.5 billion, but it is 95 percent leveraged due to the new $1.5-billion Yankee Stadium. He handed day-to-day operations of the Yankees to his sons, Hank and Hal, in 2008.
From a statement from Steinbrenner’s family, via CNN:
“It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing. He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family – his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren. He 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.”