The Fourth of July marked the eightieth birthday of the true ‘Boss’ of baseball, George Steinbrenner, with little bluster but a great amount of significance.

Sports reporters covering an exhibition game at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida described Steinbrenner’s birthday as relatively uneventful with birthday wishes being flashed on the JumboTron received with only scattered applause.

Often described as demanding and even villainous, the simple and direct owner of seven World Series trophies and 11 pennants died Tuesday of a massive heart attack in his adopted hometown of Tampa.

George Steinbrenner’s claim to fame is his restoration of the Yankees to their former glory as the main staple in America’s favorite pastime. Pop culture adopted him as one of their own with his public self mockery in commercials and on “Seinfeld.”

Steinbrenner was also infamous for his reputation as a harsh boss willing to break down and humiliate his players, employees, and enemies alike.

“George is the most charming guy in the world, a real Mr. Nice,” said Campbell W. Elliott, former president of American Ship Building Company, owned by Steinbrenner. “But to work for him? George’s attitude is that they’re damn lucky to have a job…and if they don’t like the way he treats them, they can just get the hell out.”

But the ‘Boss’ also had a softer side; reaching out to financially help people he did not even know.

“Not a lot of people know this, but he would hear of a story, read about someone in the newspaper who was having a hard time, and he would find them and help them, without getting any credit,” said Rick Cerrone, the former public relations director of the Yankees. “He picked up random people’s medical bills. He was a very magnanimous, generous person.”

Henry and Rita Steinbrenner raised George in a Cleveland, OH suburb under the corporate shadow cast by Henry’s shipping company. His first connection with the sports industry happened when he started running track in high school.

On Tuesday, flags at New York City Hall were lowered in tribute to Steinbrenner.

“This is a sad day not only for Yankee fans, but for our entire city, as few people have had a bigger impact on New York over the past four decades than George Steinbrenner,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

“His heart might have been gentler, but he was still The Boss. He’s always gonna be The Boss.”