George Steinbrenner Passes

George Steinbrenner, perhaps the most famous owner in sports, passed away today. Since I have no personal anecdotes to share, we’ll simply stick to the numbers.

He was in his 37th year of owning the Yankees, having bought the team in 1973. In that time, his team won the American League pennant 11 times and the World Series seven times. During his reign, the Yankees won it all an average of once per five years.

Their record since Steinbrenner purchased the team: 3,364 wins, 2,583 losses. They won 56.6 percent of the games they played during his ownership.

Seventeen different people have managed the Yankees since 1973. Under Steinbrenner’s watch, the team changed managers 22 times, an average of once every season and a half.

Forbes estimates the Yankees worth in 2010 at $1.6 billion. The next highest estimate was the Red Sox at $870 million.

That will be the legacy Steinbrenner leaves – a lot of winning, a lot of managerial changes, and by far the most valuable franchise in sports. Hard to call it anything other than a success…