Book details Steinbrenner group's narrow 1973 Yankees victory
Mike Vaccaro's new book "The Bosses of the Bronx" discloses that George Steinbrenner's investor group was not the favorite to purchase the New York Yankees from CBS in 1973. A Lehman Brothers-led contingent, planning to install former New York Giants catcher Herman Franks as team president and move the franchise to a new New Jersey stadium, offered between $13.5 million and $14 million. Steinbrenner's group acquired the team for just over $10 million after CBS rejected the higher bid to ensure the Yankees remained in the Bronx.
Steinbrenner, alongside E. Michael Burke and others, completed the deal with a net cost of about $8.8 million after CBS repurchased two parking garages for $1.2 million. The transaction marked the last time a major league baseball team sold at a loss. CBS viewed the Lehman Brothers proposal as a deal-breaker due to its commitment to relocate from the aging Yankee Stadium, which sought city funding for repairs.
Vaccaro notes Franks had courted Willie Mays as potential manager, which would have made Mays the first African American to hold that position a season ahead of Frank Robinson's debut on April 8, 1975. 
Steinbrenner declared at his introductory news conference that the purchase represented the best buy in sports. Under his leadership from 1973 until his death in July 2010, the Yankees captured seven World Series titles.
The franchise, which Steinbrenner vowed would stay in New York despite Meadowlands overtures, carries a current valuation of approximately $9 billion.
