Bill Madden Takes On "The Boss" in New Book, "Steinbrenner"

Bill Madden has covered baseball and the Yankees for the New York Daily News for more than 30 years. He is therefore uniquely qualified to write a biography on Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, which is exactly what he did in his new book, Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball.

Though the biography is unauthorized, Madden was given what he called “tacit approval” by Steinbrenner’s daughter Jennifer a few years ago to move forward with his book.

“She said, ‘You’re the writer who knew him the best, you should do it,’” Madden recalled. “I think she wanted me to do it with him; that was just never going to happen.”

Given Steinbrenner’s notoriously controlling demeanor, Madden does not think anybody could write a book with him. And as Steinbrenner’s health began to fail, both mentally and physically, this became an even larger impossibility. But as Madden began to work on Steinbrenner, he did not find the roadblocks that other writers had previously encountered.

“ I talked to over 150 people for this book,” he said. “I had relationships with these people—people who worked for him. And everybody cooperated with me.”

He spoke with the family, but not until the end of the project. “They knew I was doing it, and they figured they had their best shot with me,” added Madden, who even had a “Deep Throat” type Yankees security guy confirming or denying any dirt he unearthed.  

Madden described Steinbrenner, who purchased the Yankees from CBS in 1973 for $8.8 million, as “a complex person,” which made this book difficult to write. “You can’t really buttonhole George,” he said. “He was a tyrant, he was a bully, he was one of the most generous people who ever walked the streets of New York. He put hundreds—hundreds—of kids through college that nobody will ever know about. And yet, if you had to work for him, he was just impossible.”

In Steinbrenner, Madden explores rumors of an affair between Steinbrenner and Barbara Walters (“They both claim they were just good friends,” he said), and also revisits Old Timer’s Day at Yankees Stadium back in 1978, when the strange news came that Billy Martin, who had quit after finding out he was to be fired, would return as manager in…1980?

Speaking with Martin’s former manager, and Imus’s pal, Doug Newton, Madden learned that Newton had frantically called Steinbrenner on learning of Martin’s quitting to beg for his reinstatement. The only problem? Yankees President Al Rosen had committed to new manager Bob Lemon through the 1979 season.

Fast forward to Old Timer’s Day, and Rosen, a former Cleveland Indian, is standing on the field next to his friend Lemon as Yankees announcer Bob Shephard says, “Coming back as manager in 1980 is Billy Martin, number one!” and Martin ran out onto the field.

“Rosen was aghast,” said Madden. “And poor Bob Lemon is just standing there. Rosen told me this story. It was all Doug’s idea!”

Besides wanting to win championships (the Yankees have earned seven under his watch), Madden believes Steinbrenner was motivated by publicity. “When I fist took the job at the Daily News in 1978 to be the Yankees beat reporter, my boss said, ‘Son, I want you to understand there are three things that sell this newspaper,’” Madden said. “Cops, sex, and the Yankees.”

After three years of hard work, Imus predicted Madden is about to see some major payoff. “This is one of the most fascinating character studies of any figure in the history of sports,” he said. “And maybe just of anybody ever.”

-Julie Kanfer