According to canon, January 3, 1920 is the official date that Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees for $100,000, and we’ve chronicled the anniversary with a list of great Ruth moments that is currently running here on YESNetwork.com.
However, January 3 is a big day for the Yankees organizations in more ways than one, as it was also 40 years ago today that a group led by George M. Steinbrenner III bought the team from CBS for $10 million.
For the next 37 years, from the day he took over until his passing in July 2010 just after his 80th birthday, Steinbrenner was undoubtedly the most hands-on owner in Major League Baseball. His tenure may have been quite tumultuous, but there’s no denying his success; the Yankees won 15 American League East titles, 11 AL pennants, and seven World Series from 1973-2010, and over the last two seasons, they team has won back-to-back AL East crowns with son Hal Steinbrenner in charge.
There are myriad great moments in Yankees history, so many that even a Top 100 list would likely omit some famous ones, but January 3 is the anniversary of one that turned a potentially-fading dynasty back into a prominent piece of sports lore.
And so, today, we salute two men enshrined in Monument Park forever, The Babe and The Boss.
