Love him or hate him, you gotta respect what he did for fans of his team. Shame he wasn't elected to the HOF as a builder while he was alive. Report: Steinbrenner dies at 80 ESPN.com news services George Steinbrenner died Tuesday morning, a person close to the longtime New York Yankees owner told The Associated Press. WABC-TV in New York reported that Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner since 1973, suffered a massive heart attack. According to reports, Steinbrenner, who celebrated his 80th birthday on July 4, was taken to a Tampa hospital after emergency crews responded to his home Monday night. Steinbrenner gave his sons, Hal and Hank, day-to-day control of the team in late 2007. He told The Associated Press last week that he was "feeling good" after spending a couple hours in his office at the Yankees' spring training complex. Under his ownership, the Yankees have won seven AL pennants and seven World Series titles. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.