by Ronald Blum – The Associated Press

George Steinbrenner died Tuesday morning, July 13, 2010. a great loss for “The Boss” as he was known. Steinbrenner had a heart attack and died at about 6:30 am, a person close to the owner told The Associated Press.

Hal of Famer Yogi Berra said, “He built the Yankees into champions, and that’s something nobody can ever deny. He was a very generous, caring, passionate man. We became great friends over the last decade and I will miss him very much.”

In 37 – plus seasons as owner, Steinbrenner led the Yankees to seven World Series championships, 11 American League pennants and 16 AL East titles.

Forbes now values the Yankees at $1.6 billion, trailing only Manchester United ($1.8 billion) and the Dallas Cowboys ($1.65 billion).

“The passing of George Steinbrenner marks the end of an era in New York City baseball history,” rival Mets owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz said. “George was a larger than life figure and a force in the industry,”