Joe Donnelly obituary: Baseball writer, mentor, friend dies at 87 - Sports Illustrated

On George Steinbrenner in February 1974, 13 months after he purchased the Yankees and vowed “absentee ownership” while letting Mike Burke and Lee MacPhail run the team:

Burke was gone from the Yankee scene in May after he found how difficult it was for him to run things. There were added indications that Steinbrenner was a strong-willed owner who would continue to try and shape the Yankees in the image he wanted.

John Callison, a major league veteran of 15 seasons, made a rare outfield appearance one night and misplayed a ball. The next day Steinbrenner told Ralph Houk and general manager Lee MacPhail, “I will not have that man on my team.”

Callison was gone by lunch, Houk by Oct. 1 and MacPhail by Jan. 1. It’s Steinbrenner’s team now, in the front office and with the attrition of ball players, it will be his on the ball field, too. He’s an enthusiastic man with seemingly remarkable energy who seems unwilling to settle for anything less than the top.