LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
By James Heinz
(Steinbrenner Story – Chapter Nine)
Sophia gave birth to George Michael Steinbrenner II (1879-1949). When Henry Steinbrenner I died in 1929, George Michael Steinbrenner I took over operation of the company.
George Michael Steinbrenner II in turn married Caroline Mueller (1880-1940). She gave birth to Henry George Steinbrenner II (1904-1983), who married Rita Haley Steinbrenner (1903-1994), who gave birth to George Steinbrenner III. It is with the second Henry Steinbrenner that the story of our George Steinbrenner III begins.
There is an adage that the apple does not fall far from the tree. And that is the case with Henry Steinbrenner II and his son George Steinbrenner III.
Until now I have relied primarily on the WMHS archives, except where noted. Those files do not contain much in the way of family history and psychological analysis. So, from now I on I will rely on two biographies of George Steinbrenner: “George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire” by Peter Golenbock, and “Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball” by Bill Madden.
Henry III could best be described as a two fisted man: iron fisted and tight fisted. A family acquaintance described him as “a tough son of a bitch” and “an autocrat.” George III described his father as “one tough German.”
This appears to have been a Steinbrenner family tradition. A business acquaintance of the family reported hearing George Michael Steinbrenner II yelling at his son Henry George Steinbrenner II in their Cleveland office, and then Henry George Steinbrenner II yelling at his son George M. Steinbrenner III.
Henry II did have his good qualities, many of which were the other side of the coin from his bad qualities. In Madden’s words, “George…credited the old man with instilling in him the perfectionist will to win competitiveness that would come to define his management style” in both business and sports. Both books assert that George III’s drive was due to a subconscious desire to please his father.
George III’s adoption of his father’s management style would lead to George III being referred to as “the U-Boat commander” by his subordinates. A 1988 article described George III’s management style thusly: “…delegation of authority is a management principle for which he has little use…if he, Steinbrenner, wants things changed, then he, Steinbrenner, will change them.” The article goes on to state: “Steinbrenner did not get the nickname ‘U-Boat Commander’ by being Mr. Nice Guy.”
Henry III also gave his children an education from an early age. When George III was nine years old, instead of giving him an allowance, Henry III started him in business raising chickens and selling their eggs to neighbors. When George III went away to boarding school in the ninth grade, he sold his George Company to his two sisters for $50. George III recounted: “it took me two years for them to pay me back, but I got my money. I made sure of it.”
Henry II also instilled a love of sport in George III. Henry II was an honors graduate in naval architecture and marine engineering at MIT where he could have qualified as a member of the US Olympic track team in the hurdles had he not decided to get married instead.
Henry II was not a man who spent a lot of money on himself. An acquaintance noted that when the fathers of George’s friends were driving air conditioned luxury cars with automatic transmissions, Henry II drove a small, cheap Ford with a manual transmission. When something fell on the roof of the car and crushed it, it took Henry II a year to get it fixed. Apparently, Henry II liked to save money on transportation costs in the same way Philip Minch I would walk 40 miles to and from Cleveland.
When George III reached the 9th grade, he was sent to the Culver Military Academy, which was basically a private sector version of West Point. Like his father, George III ran the hurdles on the track team and played on the football team. By his senior year he was described as “brash” and not afraid to boast of his father’s wealth and use it “like a club” to get what he wanted, according to Golenbock.
George III then went to Williams College for four years. He ran track again, and joined the football team but had to leave the team due to a separated shoulder. He participated in Air Force ROTC. His time in college delayed his mandatory military service. When he graduated in spring 1952, the Korean War was in its third year and George joined the U.S. Air Force.
George Steinbrenner III was literally born on the Fourth of July in 1930 but this did not translate into a burning desire to serve his country. While his other ROTC classmates were sent into combat or overseas, Henry II used his political influence to have George III assigned to what is now Rickenbacker Air Force Base, a three hour drive from home, where George III was made base athletic director. We know this because George III told people this. He was not afraid to use his father’s wealth to avoid some of the more onerous requirements of military service.
After leaving the Air Force in 1954, George III earned a master’s degree in physical education at Ohio State University, and acted as an assistant football coach for several college teams, including the legendary Woody Hayes, who’s Ohio State Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl during George’s tenure.
In 1956, he met and married his wife Joan, who would give birth to two sons and two daughters. At this time, he apparently was planning a career in sports. He bought a minor league basketball team that he tried unsuccessfully to get admitted to the National Basketball Association.
NEXT: KINSMAN TRANSIT IS IN TROUBLE
Photo at top of page: George Steinbrenner III in 1980. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.
GEORGE STEINBRENNER, GREAT LAKES SHIP OWNER – Chapter One
THE WRECK OF THE WESTERN RESERVE – Chapter Two
NUTTY PHIL AND THE WRECK OF THE ONOKO – Chapter Three
SOPHIA MINCH AND THE WRECK OF THE SOPHIA MINCH – Chapter Four
HENRY STEINBRENNER I, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, AND THE WRECK OF THE HENRY STEINBRENNER I – Chapter Five
THE WRECK OF THE ANNA C. MINCH – Chapter Six
HENRY STEINBRENNER II AND THE SHIPWRECK THAT BECAME A SHIP AGAIN – Chapter Seven
AN OLDIE BUT A GOLDIE: HENRY STEINBRENNER II AND THE J. B. FORD – Chapter Eight
HENRY III AND GEORGE STEINBRENNER III: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON – Chapter Nine
KINSMAN TRANSIT IS IN TROUBLE – Chapter Ten
GEORGE III SAVES KINSMAN TRANSIT – Chapter Eleven
GEORGE III SAVES AMERICAN SHIPBUILDING – Chapter Twelve
