Tweet

Making the Big Leagues: Baseball Great George Steinbrenner Gets His Start

Article Overview: “We know how to win.”

Making the Big Leagues: Baseball Great George Steinbrenner Gets His Start

“We know how to win.”

That’s how baseball great George Steinbrenner once explained the astounding success of his pride and joy, the team he led to success both on the baseball diamond and off, the New York Yankees. The same could be true, however, of Steinbrenner’s own career. From studying English Literature in college to becoming one of the sports world’s greatest icons, Steinbrenner has proved time and again that he knows how to win.

George Steinbrenner III was born to parents Henry Steinbrenner II and Rita Haley on July 4, 1930 in Rocky River, Ohio. His father was an athletics legend in his own rite, having been a famous hurdler at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He would later take control of his family’s shipping company, Kinsman Shipping. Of course, he naturally expected his son, George, to follow suit as well. George’s mother meanwhile managed the house and took charge of raising her young son.

Steinbrenner grew up in Bay Village, a suburb of Cleveland. In 1944, he joined northern Indiana’s Culver Military Academy, graduating four years later. He later enrolled in Williams College, where he graduated in 1952 with a Bachelors degree in English Literature. During that time, Steinbrenner also took part in several extracurricular activities, including hurdling, football, and piano.

After graduation, Steinbrenner enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed as a second lieutenant at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio. It was there that his leadership qualities first began to shine through. On the base, Steinbrenner used his spare time to establish a sports program, as well as a food service business. It was his first taste of the business of sports, and Steinbrenner liked it.

Following completion of his term with the Air Force, Steinbrenner worked for a brief time as an assistant football coach at Northwestern University, and later Purdue University. However, just two years into his tenure at Purdue, in 1957, Steinbrenner got a call from his father, pleading with him to come home and run the family business, which was at the time on the brink of closure. “He told me to get home and get busy,” recalls Steinbrenner. “I wish I could have stayed in coaching. My father never asked that much, but when he did it was an order.”

Steinbrenner did as his father asked, returning home to work as treasurer of the family shipping business. There, he proved himself a capable businessman and became president of the company in just four years. Still, during that time, the yearning to enter the business world of sports stayed strong. And, in 1960, Steinbrenner made a decision that would forever change his life. Against his father’s wishes of taking over the family business, Steinbrenner decided to follow his instinct and purchase a sports franchise.

It was in 1960 that Steinbrenner established a partnership to purchase the Cleveland Pipers, a semi-professional basketball team. The venture was not as successful as Steinbrenner had hoped, but it nonetheless gave him a taste of the world he wanted to enter.

Related Articles
  Making the Big Leagues: How Steinbrenner Hit a Grand Slam
  George Steinbrenner
  Two Important Qualities
  Lesson #5: Never Lose Sight of Your Fans
  Lesson #3: The Boss Can Come Back

Article Tags: assistant football coach, astounding success, bachelors degree, baseball diamond, culver military academy, english literature, food service business, george steinbrenner, hurdler, leadership qualities, massachusetts institute of technology, new york yankees, northern indianas, northwestern university, pride and joy, purdue university, rocky river ohio, second lieutenant, suburb of cleveland, u s air force



Related Forum Posts
Re: What R U Reading now? - I went to B&N today to finish off a gift card I got for Christmas, picked up Presidential Campaigns : From George Washington to George W. Bush, and Summerland, a fantasy, by Michael Chabon. And I"m working my way through Before Amelia: Women pilots in the early days of aviation, by Ellen F. Lebow.
Re: Have You Ever Fallen For Marketing Hype? - Not all "As seen on tv" products can be bad, as some of them even make it to the mainstream like the George Foreman Grill which is sold at places like Zellers and other large retailers now. I have a friend who owns and loves both the George Foreman Grill and the Bowflex.
Making Money in 2011 - Hello forum members! As we draw closer to the new year I thought it would be appropriate to change the title of our forum category "Making Money in 2010" to "Making Money in 2011" - I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions and wish everyone a prosperous New Year!
Re: Have You Ever Fallen For Marketing Hype? - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":1u9z7zli]Not all "As seen on tv" products can be bad, as some of them even make it to the mainstream like the George Foreman Grill which is sold at places like Zellers and other large retailers now. [/quote:1u9z7zli] Kevin, How do you know? Our family JUST got the George Foreman Grill last week. We're trying it out this week.... we also have something similar to Bowflex though... can't remember what's called. Regards, Takuya
When to run advertising? - Depending on your business, when you run an advertising campaign can be crucial. For example, during the month of the NCAA championships or the Baseball World Series, there's no good advertising anything except sports related stuff, because that's all guys are interested in during those months. Don't advertise during Thanksgiving and Christmas, unless it's for toys...


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

Work at home Opportunities for the Disabled

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.