DOG ASIDE:
The 1973 New York Yankees season was the 71st season for the team in New York….and its 73rd season overall. The Yankees finished with a record of 80-82….finishing 17 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees were managed by Ralph Houk….playing their home games at old Yankee Stadium on the south side of 161st Street. This would be the last year in the “old” Yankee Stadium….which was targeted for major reconstruction in 1974–1975. The picture above is the last at bat at the “old stadium”….with NYY Mike Hegan at bat against Tigers P John Hiller. During Yankee Stadium’s renovation period….the Yank would share a home field with a National League team for the third time in their history….moving into Shea Stadium for two years.
Going into the 1973 season, the Yankees had been struggling during their years under CBS ownership…. which had acquired the team in 1965. In 1972, CBS Chairman William S. Paley told team president E. Michael Burke the media company intended to sell the club. As Burke later told writer Roger Kahn….Paley offered to sell the franchise to Burke….if he could find financial backing. Burke ran across George Steinbrenner’s name….and veteran baseball executive Gabe Paul….a Cleveland-area acquaintance of Steinbrenner….helped bring the two men together. On January 3, 1973, a group of investors led by George Steinbrenner and minority partner Burke bought the Yankees from CBS for $10 million.
The announced intention was that Burke would continue to run the team as club president….but Burke later became angry when he found out that Paul had been brought in as a senior Yankee executive….crowding his authority….as he quit the team presidency on April 29, 1973….but remained a minority owner of the club into the following decade. He handed in his resignation to the New York Yankees so that he could become president of Madison Square Garden. It would be the first of many high-profile departures by employees who crossed paths with “The Boss.”….as evidenced by the departure of two more prominent Yankee employees at the conclusion of the 1973 season….manager Ralph Houk….who resigned and then signed to manage the Detroit Tigers….and general manager Lee MacPhail….who became president of the American League.
