By Jim Scott and Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — The Boss is dead.
And whether they loved him or hated him, many New Yorkers were stunned to hear that George Steinbrenner, who loomed large over Manhattan and the baseball world for decades, was gone.
"I don't know if you can put it into words," Yankee captain Derek Jeter said at a press conference from the All-Star Game in Anaheim, Calif. "It's sad, but you're just shocked."
Steinbrenner, known to everyone simply as "The Boss," suffered a massive heart attack and died at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday after being rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital near his home in Tampa, Fla.
"He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports," Steinbrenner's family said in a statement. "He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again."
Praise for the Boss, who's bombastic and belligerent image softened in recent years as his health deteriorated, came in from fans across the city.
"George Steinbrenner's Yankees represent the will to overcome all odds which is precisely the will New Yorkers display when meeting every challenge they face," former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said in a statement. "George will be greatly missed but his legacy will carry on in the hearts and minds of all baseball fans."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg had flags at City Hall lowered in honor of Steinbrenner, who he called a "champion who made New York a better place, and who always gave back to the city he loved."
Yankee Stadium displayed tributes to the team's principal owner on the outer marquees and the centerfield Jumbotron.
Fans braved the pouring rain to pay their last respects, leaving behind a makeshift memorial on the interlocking N-Y symbol at Gate 4 with votive candles, flowers, team caps and other mementos.
Joel Cabrera, 31, of Washington Heights came with coworkers from their office in Teaneck, N.J., to light candles and lay down blue and white flowers and a homemade sign that said "RIP to the greatest boss of NY."
"He won seven [World Series Championships]," Cabrera said. "That says a lot about his desire and passion to win. He did it for the fans. That's what I really admired about him."
Heather Golden, 20, came from Central Islip, Long Island, with friends to spend the afternoon at the stadium.
"We wanted to show our respects to the boss," she said. "Steinbrenner has made the team what it is today. He made this house."
The Yankees won 11 pennants and seven World Series after Steinbrenner purchased the Bronx Bombers in 1973, including the team's 27th overall championship last season.
The Boss often involved himself in the day-to-day operations of the team, which did not always go over well with many of the Yankees former managers and general managers. Steinbrenner changed managers 20 times over the first 23 years as team owner. He feuded publicly with former Yankees manager Billy Martin, firing him five times between 1977 and 1988.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly quipped on NY1 Tuesday night that the bad weather that blew through the city during the day was likely the result of Martin and Steinbrenner reuniting.
Steinbrenner was suspended twice from baseball, once for illegal contributions made to President Richard Nixon's 1972 campaign fund and once for paying a gambler for information on former outfielder Dave Winfield in 1990.
Steinbrenner, who turned 80 on July 4, was largely out of the public eye over the last three years due to declining health. His sons Hank and Hal took over ownership operations for the team after their father retired in 2006.
But the Boss was instrumental in pushing the Yankees to new heights financially during his 37 years as team owner. He paid $8.8 million for the team when he bought it from CBS in 1973. By April 2010, when Forbes estimated the team's value at $1.6 billion, the Yankees had long been one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
He was the first owner to sell television rights to cable in the 1980s, and later was the driving force behind the Yankees starting their YES Network in 2005, a move emulated by other owners around Major League Baseball.
But perhaps his lasting legacy was his willingness to open his wallet to attract top talent to New York.
Back in Anaheim, Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez said it was "always a dream" to play for an owner like Steinbrenner.
"The opportunity to play for the boss and his family was second to none," A-Rod said. He was "really passionate about this game and for many many years spent the most money to try to bring the best players to play for his team."
Joese Suarez, 51, from the Bronx, who works at the 161st Street Courthouse near the stadium, said he became a Yankee fan when Steinbrenner brought in Reggie Jackson in the 70s.
"He revolutionized the game of baseball," Suarez said. "He was a winner, he wanted his team to win. He had the money, too."
At Mickey Mantle's Restaurant on Central Park South, fans were wondering what's next.
"It's gonna be a different experience now as a Yankees fan," said Michael Khidekel, 23, from New Jersey. "Now that he's gone."
