Saban Will Be Named Yankees' President (original) (raw)
Sports|Saban Will Be Named Yankees' President
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/06/sports/saban-will-be-named-yankees-president.html
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- Feb. 6, 1981
Credit...The New York Times Archives
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February 6, 1981
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Lou Saban, a college and professional football coach for 30 years, will become president of the Yankees in the next week or two. George Steinbrenner, for whom Saban has worked in Tampa, Fla., for the last six months, would not confirm the appointment, but a source close to the Yankees said that Steinbrenner, the team's principal owner, would announce it later this month.
''Everyone knows that Lou Saban and I are good friends and he's associated with me,'' Steinbrenner said from Tampa yesterday, ''but right now I have no comment.'' Saban could not be reached for comment.
An Unfilled Position
The Yankees have operated without an executive with the title of president since Al Rosen resigned in July 1979. Rosen had held the job since the beginning of 1978, when he succeeded Gabe Paul, who returned to the Cleveland Indians after five years with the Yankees. Paul came to New York in 1973 when Steinbrenner and his partners bought the Yankees from CBS.
Saban, 59 years old, left his last football job, as coach at Army, in July after one season. Shortly afterward, Steinbrenner hired him to serve as a troubleshooter for his operations in Tampa, particularly Tampa Bay Downs, the race track that opened under Steinbrenner's ownership in December.
Last Nov. 21, when Steinbrenner changed managers, he indicated that he might be naming a president soon. He declined to name his choice. But Steinbrenner said that the person he had in mind was not in the Yankee organization, was not necessarily in baseball and had been involved with athletes. Saban fits that description, and yesterday the source close to the Yankees said Steinbrenner had decided to name Saban. A Longtime Association
The two have known each other for more than 30 years, since Saban played professional football in the late 1940's. In 1955, when Saban was the football coach at Northwestern University, he hired Steinbrenner as an assistant.
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