Nine days after his 80th birthday, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away on July 13, 2010. The uber-owner and “Boss†purchased the team in 1973 and owned them until his death, a time during which the Yanks won seven crowns and 11 AL pennants. Coming just two days after Yankee fans were devastated by the death of Bob Sheppard, it was making for a bad year in the Bronx.
On July 13, 1985, the Yankees retired the numbers 9 and 32, for Roger Maris and Elston Howard, respectively. Then the Yankees beat Mike Mason and the Texas Rangers 3-1 behind Phil Niekro, with the save going to Dave Righetti.
Mel Stottlemyre notched his 39th shutout in beating the rival Royals 5-0 on July 13, 1973. But the name in lights on this day belongs to Bobby Murcer, who homered three times and knocked in all of the runs.
Oakland A’s slugger Reggie Jackson, a future Yankee, blasted a memorable tape-measure home run that struck a transformer on the Tiger Stadium roof in a 6-4 American League All Star victory over the National League on this day in 1971.
The Yankees hit all day in a doubleheader win (11-1, 12-2) over the Tigers on July 13, 1952, but the pitching hero was Vic Raschi, who threw a one-hitter in the first game. Raschi was also a hitting star four years earlier on this day, as he drove in the winning run (and got the win) in the American League’s 5-2 win over the National League in the 1948 All Star Game.