His long and sometimes tumultuous relationship with baseball has been well documented, but some people are unaware of "The Boss'" history in the theatre. Steinbrenner invested in six shows on Broadway, including the 1970 Tony Award-winning musical Applause and the 1974 Best Musical Tony Award nominee Seesaw.
It began with a working relationship with James Nederlander in the '60s. Steinbrenner and Nederlander produced several road-show productions, including Funny Girl and On a Clear Day. In 1967, they produced The Ninety Day Mistress on Broadway. It ran for only 24 performances, but they had better luck with their involvement in the 1970 Tony winner, Applause.
In 1973, Nederlander and his brother Robert joined a slew of other investors to help Steinbrenner purchase the Yankees. Robert had a short tenure as the Yankees' managing general partner in 1990.
In a 1977 issue of Sports Illustrated, Nederlander was quoted as saying, "If George were in the theater exclusively, he'd be another Mike Todd or Ziegfeld."
Steinbrenner's involvement in the theatre ended in 1988 with Legs Diamond.
Steinbrenner's other non-Yankees related interests included a stint as vice president of the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1989-1998 and was an avid horse breeder, entering six horses in the Kentucky Derby.
