One of America's most famous sports personalities has died. Eighty-year-old George M. Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the New York Yankees baseball team, best known for being difficult to deal with and for firing team managers in quick succession, passed away in Tampa, Florida, this week.

Steinbrenner indulged in regular use of the words “you're fired” long before a fellow New Yorker, property tycoon Donald Trump, did. Some people called him a powerful bully, but he had a kind heart too. In reaction to losing “the boss", the team's players will wear a special uniform patch for the rest of this season.

During 37 years in charge (longer than any other Yankees owner), Steinbrenner developed the team into a leading sports brand. In 1973, a business group he led bought the team from CBS for a net price of US$8.7 million. Since then, the Yankees have compiled a Major League-best .566 winning percentage and won the World Series seven times. Consistently, they shattered attendance records. In 2009, they drew 3,719,358 fans, best in the American League for the seventh straight season.

In 2002, Sporting News called Steinbrenner the most powerful man in sports. His vision led to the creation of YankeeNets, which owned the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils, and the launch of the YES Network, a trailblazing regional sports network. Most recently, he teamed with a friend, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, to create Legends Hospitality, a concession and merchandising company operating at the Yankees' and Cowboys' new stadiums.

Earlier in life, Steinbrenner played multiple sports at Culver Military Academy and at Williams College. He began a successful coaching career as a football assistant at Northwestern and Purdue universities. Then he assembled championship basketball teams in the National Industrial and American Basketball Leagues.

Apart from sports, Steinbrenner indulged in philanthropy, often without fanfare, leading to community awards from New York and Tampa. In 2008, Tampa City Council agreed to rename Legends Field there after him. Even a new high school in Lutz, Florida, bears his name.

Whoever owns the Yankees in the future won't be as colorful or cantankerous. Probably not as successful either.

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