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Joan Steinbrenner

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Steinbrenner

Elizabeth Joan Steinbrenner (née Zieg; August 25, 1935 – December 14, 2018) was an American philanthropist[1] and vice-chair of the New York Yankees baseball team.[2][3]

Early life and education

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Elizabeth Joan Zieg[4] was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio to a "wealthy family involved in real estate development"[5] and attended Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, where she played basketball, football, and hockey.[6]

She studied dental hygiene at Ohio State University.[2]

Career

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In 1973, her husband, George Steinbrenner, led a group of investors who bought the New York Yankees baseball team, and she became involved with running the business. She continued to work for the team after her husband's death in 2010.[7]

In 1977 Steinbrenner bought the Bay Harbor Inn in Tampa, Florida.[8][9] In the 1980s, she was vice-chair of the Tampa Bay Downs board of directors,[10][11] eventually buying and racing horses with her husband under the Kinsman Stables name, and greyhounds under the kennel name Jo-Bett Kennels, with a friend, Betty Hater.[12][13]

Steinbrenner worked with a large number of philanthropic organizations throughout her life, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa,[14][15] Tampa Bay Junior Volleyball Club,[16] Children's Home Network of Tampa,[17] the Red Cross of Tampa,[18] the American Cancer Society of Tampa,[19] and the Florida Special Olympics.[20] In Florida, she was state chairwoman for the Special Olympics held there in 1981 and 1982 and sat on the boards of the National Society to Prevent Blindness, the St. Joseph's Hospitals Foundation in Tampa, the Children's Home Network in Tampa and the Florida Orchestra,[2] for which she, along with her husband and the New York Yankees, underwrote productions.[21][22]

In the late 1990s, Steinbrenner and her husband contributed to the renovation of the band room at Ohio Stadium; the room was re-named the Joan Zieg Steinbrenner Band Center in 2001.[23][24]

During the investigation into her husband's dealings with gambler Howard Spira it was revealed that Spira had once taped a conversation with her in which he asked her to pressure her husband into giving him a job or paying him off. Steinbrenner chastised him and told him, "Howard, I think you need to see a doctor. I really do."[25][26]

Steinbrenner was a founding member of Town and Gown, a group that connected the University of South Florida with the Tampa community and was also a founding member of the Henry B. Plant Museum Society.[7] In 2017, St. Joseph's Hospitals Foundation honoured her as a "Community Hero" for her work with the hospitals.[27]

Personal life

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On May 12, 1956[28][29] she married George Steinbrenner, a businessman, and together they had four children. George died in 2010 at the age of 80, while Joan died on December 14, 2018, at her home in Tampa, Florida.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Joan Steinbrenner, wife of former Yankees owner George, dies". Reuters. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Media, Field Level (2018-12-14). "Joan Steinbrenner, 83, Yankees Vice-Chairwoman and Owner's Widow, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  3. ^ a b Desk, Post Sports (2018-12-14). "Joan Steinbrenner, wife of late Yankees owner George, dies at 83". New York Post. Retrieved 2018-12-16. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ "Joan Steinbrenner, wife late George Steinbrenner, dies at 83". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 December 2018.[dead link‍]
  5. ^ Macur, Juliet (May 3, 2004). "Even George Steinbrenner now ponders the inevitable". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ McEwen, Tom (October 3, 1975). "The Morning After". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Yankees matriarch, philanthropist Joan Steinbrenner dies at 83". Tampa Bay Times. 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  8. ^ Bertke, Roy (March 26, 1977). "Bay Harbor Inn...Joan Steinbrenner Okays Purchase". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Costello, Harry (October 5, 1977). "Rocky Point owners join to guard interests". Tampa Times. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Klein, Frank (February 14, 1986). "Board approves firing of Downs GM". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Burick, Si (March 1, 1982). "Not all Steinbrenner winners are winners". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "One Dog Kennel". Tampa Tribune. May 7, 1981. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Army Brat vies in rich derby". Tampa Tribune. February 5, 1983. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  14. ^ Otto, Steve (November 15, 1985). "Whack cracks more than just bottle of bubbly". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ McEwen, Tom (August 19, 1988). "Trump visit gives clubs a big boost". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Sommerer, Susana (June 29, 1989). "Donation send team to Toledo". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Joshua House Circle of Friends Dinner". Tampa Bay Times. May 4, 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Scherzer, Amy (February 20, 1993). "Boogie Woogie Ball is some enchanted evening". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Johnson, Maria (November 23, 1994). "Neighbors". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Selman, Jim (June 3, 1979). "Special Olympics". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ McEwen, Tom (December 21, 1990). "The Morning After". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Parker, Elisabeth (Nov 30, 2011). "Kids get a taste of Florida Orchestra at Steinbrenners' annual concert". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Steinbrenner's Ties To Ohio Ran Deep". WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio | Columbus News, Weather & Sports. 2010-07-13. Archived from the original on 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  24. ^ "Newsmakers". Shreveport Times. November 2, 2000. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  25. ^ "Hospitalized". New York Daily News. July 18, 1990. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Pienciak, Richard (March 20, 1990). "Mrs. Boss: Hang Up, Howard". New York Daily News. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "2017 Heroes Ball (2017-06-17)". www.sjhfoundation.org. Archived from the original on 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  28. ^ "Joan Steinbrenner, wife of former New York Yankees owner, dies at 83". North Jersey Record. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  29. ^ "Pipers' owner sued by wife". The Pittsburgh Press. July 8, 1962. p. 61. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
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