News
LUTZ — George M. Steinbrenner High School has the Boss' name over the front door and the BOSS program in the classroom.
Here, BOSS stands for the Business of Sports at Steinbrenner. It's a program for students interested in sports marketing, athletic training, event planning, even turf care.
And that's just one school tribute to the famed New York Yankees owner and philanthropist, who died Tuesday.
The school's teams are the Warriors, reflecting Steinbrenner's drive to win. At assemblies, principal Brenda Grasso talks about his legacy of community service.
"A tough businessman, yes," Hillsborough School Board Chairwoman Susan Valdes said, but Steinbrenner also "had a heart as big as his body."
The school opened in August, two years after the School Board decided to name it in Steinbrenner's honor.
Steinbrenner rarely visited but did attend a dedication in May, laughing at lighter moments at the event.
"He had a good time," Valdes said. "He was able to see how this community feels about what he's done here."
Over the years, Steinbrenner also paid for lights at Little League fields, saved middle school sports programs from budget cuts, paid to bury a former high school football star, replaced musical instruments stolen from a high school band and paid college expenses for scores of needy students.
In 2005, he gave $37,000 so that the Gaither High School band could march in the presidential inaugural parade.
"It was a dream come true for our students," said Grasso, then the principal at Gaither.
A former high school coach, Steinbrenner also started an annual celebration known as the "coaches' prom."
"He said high school coaches made a lasting impression in his life," Hillsborough County athletic director Lanness Robinson said.
Loading...
