That is not meant to depreciate the legacy of the recently deceased George Steinbrenner. However, it is true. As is the case with The Boss, the owners of a dynasty usually got said dynasty by letting their people, in particular their general managers, do their job.
-The Boston Celtics, winners of 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons from 1957-1969, had multiple owners. The constant, besides Bill Russell, was General Manager Red Auerbach.
-The San Francisco 49ers of the 1980's, winners of Super Bowl XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV were owned by Eddie DeBartolo and John York with Bill Walsh overseeing that successful run of their franchise as Coach and General Manager.
-New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft had the frigid Bill Belichick as de-facto G.M. to put things in order as the Pats won three Super Bowls in four years .
-The Edmonton Oilers of the NHL won five Stanley Cups in seven years during the '80s. The owner was the colorful Peter Pocklington. It is said that Pocklington once piled $100,000 cash on a ping pong table in the Oilers locker room and told his players it was theirs if they defeated the Los Angeles Kings. The steady Glen Sather put together the juggernaut team.
Locally, if the Philadelphia Eagles had been able to parlay all those conference title game appearances into a few titles, Andy Reid would be on this list. The Eagles did not turn around when Jeffery Lurie purchased them. However, they did turn around when Lurie hired Big Red.
Of course, there is one exception and it is a most dreadful one.
Jimmy Johnson, with Jerry Jones hanging over his shoulder, served as GM for the Dallas Cowboys that won three Super Bowls in four years in the early 90's. Of course Johnson got an assist from the worst trade in trading (player, stocks, trading cards, etc.) history.
"The Trade" made Johnson look like a genius as the Minnesota Vikings acquired Herschel Walker and two third, a fifth, and a tenth-round draft picks from the Cowboys. The Vikings exhibited that famous Midwestern friendliness as they gave Dallas two first, three second, and a sixth round draft picks, as well as four players. You don't even wanna know what players Dallas eventually turned those picks into!
Coming back to Steinbrenner whose team won four World Series in five years in the late 90's and early 2000's had three GM's. Steinbrenner also had a small nation's deficit to spend on players. But it's worth noting that the Yanks won under the boss when he backed off and allowed his people to do what he paid (and he paid well) them to do.
Colorful owners supplying soundbites is fun but when you get down to it, all an owner really need do is hire the right CEO and sign the checks. It's been proven time and time again in the world: if you have a problem, and you have enough money, then throw the money at said problem and everything will work out fine.
While we're discussing Steinbrenner, we would be remiss to touch on Rush Limbaugh's"eloquent" comments about The Boss after his death.
"That cracker made a lot of African American millionaires. And at the same time, he fired a bunch of white guys."
"That cracker," wow. Limbaugh said it in a tone like The Boss was the lowest form of white man
Of course, Mr. Limbaugh and his selective facts left out the part about "a bunch of white guys" usually getting rehired. And it's a good thing that Rush did not know that The Boss hired the American League's first black G.M. Bob Watson. Coincidentally, Watson was the G.M. of the first of those titles in the 90's.
It is curious that a right-wing, big business thinking guy like Limbaugh could not appreciate The Boss. Steinbrenner and his two sons were the Waltons of Major League Baseball; the Wal Mart owning Waltons, not the wholesome ones.
Finally, one has to wonder what would have been for Cleveland if Steinbrenner had not been rebuffed in his attempt to purchase his hometown Cleveland Indians before moving on to acquire the boys in penstripes. That depressing town might have a title by now and would not be wailing and whining about the departure of LeBron James.
A little fun fact about Steinbrenner: he served as a graduate assistant at Ohio State under Woody Hayes when the Buckeyes went 10-0 en route to a national title in 1954.
