The Last Act of the Notorious Howie Spira

October 29, 2011 3:06 PM

The Last Act of the Notorious Howie Spira. The conventional shorthand for what George Steinbrenner did wrong, in press accounts of the mudslinging-and-extortion scandal, is this: The Yankees owner had an "association with Howard Spira." It made Spira sound menacing—this known gambler, this criminal element. He was the embodiment of the Yankees owner's dark side: Steinbrenner the Nixon bagman, the convicted-and-pardoned felon. Under questioning in court, Steinbrenner described their relationship in ominous terms. Did Spira "destroy" him? "As far as baseball is concerned, yes," Steinbrenner said. "He did a very good job."
posted by auto-correct (2 comments total)

He wanted a "book-and-movie deal". He got a long post on a GawkerNet blog. Screwed to the end.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:28 PM on October 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

Great article, though I don't know about the "screwed to the end" thing. For one thing, he's still alive, and for another, I didn't exactly get the sense that the world owes this guy a damn thing.
posted by Navelgazer at 5:15 PM on October 29, 2011