George Steinbrenner Letters up for Auction

Michael Schriner alerted us to this auction on eBay for a collection of letters written to his mother from 1949 to 1951 from the future New York Yankees boss.

He pointed us to the following story on Sports Collector Daily:

“Steinbrenner Letters Now on eBay

A collection of half century year-old letters from a young George Steinbrenner to a woman who had captured his fancy are being offered on eBay.

Mary Jane Schriner met the future Yankees owner when she was 16 years old and he was entering Williams College in Ohio. The two shared dates and friendship until they grew apart during their college years. Steinbrenner died earlier this summer at age 80.”

“Read the Full Story here >>

The the listing on eBay states the following:

“In 1949 my mother began a three year friendship with George Steinbrenner. In July of this year, several days after George passed away, my mother was asked by the NY Times to write a story about their friendship. The story appeared on July 16th and can be read at the following link, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/sports/baseball/16ohio.html

Her story was read by millions and she received many letters of praise. Several weeks later, she was asked to author a book based on the letters and her first hand accounts of their friendship. In order to use the letters for the book, she was required to get permission from the Steinbrenner family. Copyright law requires that the original author or their heirs grant the use for reproduction.

My mother sent copies of the letters to the Steinbrenner’s along with her request last month. During that time the Baseball Hall of Fame asked her to donate the letters. She notified the Steinbrenner family of this new development.

Last Friday she finally received their response. They decided that the letters, if published or reproduced in any format, “will cause untold embarrassment and damages to the Steinbrenner family”. In addition, the Baseball Hall of Fame was instructed, by the NY Yankee’s front office, not to accept her letters.

My mother has no interest in upsetting or embarrassing the Steinbrenner family. She felt that her letters showed George in a positive light, as a fun loving and caring person. Since she has lost the opportunity to write her book or to share her letters with the Baseball Hall of Fame, she has decided to part with them.”

View the auction on eBay here