Wichita man with special Steinbrenner memorbilia remembers Yanks' owner

July 13, 2010|By Cliff Judy | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

WICHITA, Kan. — Love him or hate him (and many fans did both), there's no denying George Steinbrenner was a winner. The New York Yankees owner who built the modern baseball dynasty died Tuesday morning after a massive heart attack.

Wichita isn't anywhere near the Bronx Bombers' home field, but one local man has a very special piece of the team's history.

Joe Ruocco, owner of Rock's Dugout, is pretty much the guy to see whether you're a young collector of baseball cards or a seasoned fan who can appreciate the truly rare memorbilia in a shop more than 30 years old. Ruocco says his very first customer Tuesday was already talking about Steinbrenner's death.

"A lot of the Yankee fans, they loved him," says Ruocco. "They had their ups and downs, but they truly loved him because he brought a winner to New York."

Ruocco grew up as a Yankee fan and can appreciate Steinbrenner's legacy as well as anyone. He still remembers the Yankee fan and card collector who came to him in 1978 furious that Steinbrenner had fired Billy Martin (the first time).

"He said, 'That's it!'" says Ruocco. "'I'm done with collecting!' He sold his entire collection."

However, Ruocco's most prized Steinbrenner gem is also his biggest.

Hung behind the Rock's Dugout counter is an eight-foot-long collage of the Yankees' 1956 World Series Championship team. The collage used to hang in Yankee Stadium. When Steinbrenner bought the Yankees in 1973, he got rid of the black-and-white collages the team had made for every season because he wanted the stadium to look more modern. Shortstop Phil Rizzuto got the 1956 collage, and Ruocco later bought it for the Dugout.

Fans at the Dugout agree there are few who can compare to Steinbrenner's success and fame when it comes to professional sports owners. Also, few can compare to how polarized he was to fans.

"I think you can say that about the Yankees in general," says Bob Peace. "You either like them or you don't like them. There's not a lot of gray area about the Yankees."

Chris Freshour says while some aren't sure whether Steinbrenner hurt or helped baseball with his extreme spending on free agents, he believes the owner was simply running his business the best way he could.

"He is who he is or he was who he was," says Freshour. "They called him 'The Boss,' and that's unquestionably who he was."

Under Steinbrenner's watch, the Yankees won 11 pennants and seven World Series titles. During the last several years, Steinbrenner's sons ran the team as his health deteriorated.

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