Big Stein Mourns Passing Of His Buddy Dick Kraft

Via mlb.com –

George Steinbrenner issued a public statement on Wednesday in reaction to the loss of an old friend and colleague. Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the Yankees who has receded from the spotlight in recent years, issued a statement regarding the passing of Dick Kraft, a friend since their shared tenure at Williams College and a former Yankees executive who spent a decade with the team.

Kraft, who started his Yankees tenure as an administrative assistant, progressed all the way up to vice president of community relations. Kraft left that position in 1994, but Steinbrenner remained close with him all the way up to his passing.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Dick Kraft, who was my great friend for 60 years,” Steinbrenner said. “We were roommates at Williams College and played together on the football team. He was a strong, tough lineman, who we called ‘Pusher’ for his driving abilities on the line of scrimmage.”

Kraft, a seasonal resident of Tampa , Fla., passed away Monday at the age of 79.

“Dick worked for the Yankees beginning in 1984 as an administrative assistant,” said Steinbrenner. “He retired in 1994, and ever since had worked with me closely during spring practice in Tampa. Dick was — and always will be — a champion to me, and my loyal friend, who I will miss dearly. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Emily, and their daughters, Debbie and Pam, and his entire family.”

For those too young to know about Mr. Kraft’s time with the Yankees, here’s a feature on his dismissal from the Times on July 24, 1994:

Embroiled in controversy for a week during which he insisted that he never called black youths “monkeys,” a Yankees executive has resigned, the team announced yesterday.

“I’ve made up my mind to resign,” the executive, Richard Kraft, said in a statement released by the Yankees. “It’s my personal decision. It’s the right thing to do for my health and for the Yankees.”

Kraft, who had been the team’s vice president for community relations, did not refer to the controversial comments in his statement. But last week, even as the team apologized for the remarks, Kraft denied that he had used the terms “monkeys” and “colored boy,” in reference to youngsters in the South Bronx neighborhood around Yankee Stadium.

The disputed statements were part of a New York magazine article by Matt Bai, published last week and based on an interview with Kraft last January. Kraft is quoted as saying he did not believe the Yankees could have “a fan base here in the Bronx.”

“I don’t know what happens to the little colored boy who goes through school here, and goes to Kennedy High School, and goes to a Catholic college. I don’t know if he loses his roots here,” he is quoted as saying.

Referring to young people who play basketball on the adjacent courts of Macombs Dam Park, the magazine quoted Kraft as saying: “It’s like monkeys. Those guys can all go up and hang on the rim and crack the rim and bend the hoops. It’s a continuous maintenance problem.”

The statements angered Bronx officials, who suggested that racism was the real reason for the club’s interest in moving to Manhattan or New Jersey. “Mr. Kraft’s remarks reveal to me the reason: bigotry,” said Fernando Ferrer, the Bronx Borough President. “He’s demonstrated his contempt for the city’s fans and especially its fans of color.”

And the team, in a statement through its spokesman, Howard J. Rubenstein, said: “The New York Yankees offer an unequivocal apology for the statements attributed to Mr. Kraft. His comments in no way reflect the opinion of the Yankees. He was not authorized to make statements on behalf of the team.”

But Kraft, a college classmate of the club’s owner, George Steinbrenner, said: “I categorically deny ever having said what was attributed to me. Anyone who knows me knows I would never say that.”

But, leave it to Big Stein to be true to his buddy. Note this from the Daily News on March 1, 1995:

Dick Kraft, who was forced to resign as vice president of community relations last year after making racially insensitive comments in a New York magazine article, was in Yankees’ camp yesterday and is said to be working for George Steinbrenner.

Kraft, who was Steinbrenner’s roommate at Williams College, was quoted as saying the kids who play basketball in the park adjacent to Yankee Stadium “are like monkeys” the way they hang on the rims. He soon resigned under fire, citing health problems. The Yankees maintain Kraft is not on the team’s payroll but is only working for Steinbrenner. Kraft would not comment on the matter.

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