The Press Break Book Club: George Steinbrenner, Watergate Investigations and Big Ten Football

The same year that George Steinbrenner took over the New York Yankees, the infamous businessman was found to have overseen illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon.

For those reading this month’s inaugural selection for The Press Break Book Club — Jeff Katz’s Split Season 1981 — perhaps this tidbit regarding one of Billy Martin’s many exits from the New York Yankees within the first few first pages raised your eyebrows as it did mine.

“…after resigning in 1978 for calling [Reggie] Jackson a liar [George] Steinbrenner a convicted felon (which he was, for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign in 1972.”

With one of the most intriguing games of the 2024 college football season emanating this week from Yankee Stadium, what better time to examine former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and his fateful run-in with a fellow football lover who transitioned from gridiron aspirations to a more successful, albeit notorious career in an another arena: Richard Nixon.