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Talk:Scurvy grass

I believe this plant is native to much more than South America. I have eaten it hiking in Iceland (the translation of its name is also 'scurvy grass' as it is the only vitamin C source found naturally on the island,) but I'm not sure enough to edit the page. If anyone knows exactly please edit it.

 * The plant described here is not the species usually called Scurvy grass, which is the several species in the genus Cochlearia (Brassicaceae). I'll do an edit later.

 * Done - MPF 14:08, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Scurvy grass


text:
Maprotiline

Maprotiline, sold under the brand name Ludiomil among others, is a tetracyclic antidepressant (TeCA) that is used in the treatment of depression. It may alternatively be classified as a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA), specifically a secondary amine. In terms of its chemistry and pharmacology, maprotiline is closely related to such-other secondary-amine TCAs as nortriptyline and protriptyline and has similar effects to them, albeit with more distinct anxiolytic effects. Additionally, whereas protriptyline tends to be somewhat more stimulating and in any case is distinctly more-or-less non-sedating, mild degrees of sedation may be experienced with maprotiline.

Medical uses
Maprotiline is used in the treatment of depression, such as depression associated with agitation or anxiety and has similar efficacy to the antidepressant drug moclobemide. This finding has also been validated by a group of general practitioners who compared the respective efficacy and tolerability of maprotiline and moclobemide.
 * Treatment of depression of all forms and severities (endogenous, psychotic, involutional, and neurotic), especially depression associated with agitation or anxiety
 * Panic disorder
 * Neuropathic pain, including painful polyneuropathy in diabetics and non-diabetics alike.
 * Treatment of the depressive phase of bipolar affective disorder
 * For the symptomatic relief of anxiety, tension or insomnia

The use of maprotiline in the treatment of enuresis in pediatric patients has so far not been systematically explored and its use is not recommended. Safety and effectiveness in the pediatric population in general have not been established. Anyone considering the use of maprotiline in a child or adolescent must balance the potential risks with the clinical need.

A very small body of research has also explored the potential of maprotiline in treating diabetic kidney disease and it has been measured against amitriptyline in this regard.

Maprotiline and fluoxetine have also been found, among certain lines of research, to have quite potent anti-profilerative effects against certain forms of cancer of the Burkitt lymphoma type. One study also bore ought a certain level of evidence regarding maprotiline’s ability to suppress both cholesterol biosynthesis and hepatocellular carcinoma liver-cancer progression.

Maprotiline was also measured against imipramine, fluoxetine and ketamine in an experiment-model involving two different kinds of chicken differently-conditioned against stress, including (black) Australorps in the proposed treatment of treatment-resistant depression in humans.

In general, lower dosages are recommended for patients over 60 years of age. Dosages of 50 mg to 75 mg daily are usually satisfactory as maintenance therapy for elderly patients who do not tolerate higher amounts. In any case, 225 m.g./d. is the absolute-maximum highest recommended dose for this drug, as any more can predispose more significantly to seizures. 150 m.g. is the average optimal daily dose for otherwise-healthy patients who can tolerate a full dose.

Available forms

 * Coated tablets: 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, and 75 mg
 * Injectable concentrate, 25 mg

Contraindications
In generalised theory, maprotiline (as with other tricyclic antidepressants, besides trimipramine  and possibly clomipramine) may somewhat worsen certain features of schizophrenia, necessitating caution in prescribing them to someone with it and continuation of the antipsychotic treatment (e.g., with risperidone or olanzapine). However, certain bodies of evidence have found maprotiline a useful augment in treating some of the negative, or "anaesthetic", symptoms of schizophrenia and in probable extension pronounced schizoidia (including the characteristic deterioration in personal grooming/appearance). It has also been weighed against fluvoxamine in this overall regard (i.e., treating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia), with fluvoxamine evidencing clear superiority therein. Maprotiline, however, may be specifically useful for the "negative symptom" of alogia (poverty of thought and/or speech) and in this regard was found demonstrably superior to the other control-drugs (alprazolam, bromocriptine, citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, nortriptyline) in one study. Citalopram, clomipramine and fluvoxamine appeared particularly useful in the study for reducing affective blunting, with alprazolam (Xanax) and maprotiline ranking joint-next.

Patients with bipolar affective disorder should not receive antidepressants whilst in a manic phase (including hypomania) under any circumstances whatsoever. (By the same analogy, people with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type should not be taking maprotiline or other antidepressants while manic.) This is because antidepressants are known to come with the risk of worsening acute mania or precipitating it in so vulnerably-predisposed people.

They (antidepressants) may also negatively interfere with the treatment of mixed bipolar states (pure or schizo-affective), where electro-convulsive therapy (generally bilateral), valproate and antipsychotics prove more beneficial (lithium should not be administered concurrently with E.C.T. treatment, as it may induce severe confusion ). However, maprotiline (at a high dose) was put to good use in one particular case, of one young man presenting with what was very-possibly a mixed-manic episode with a heavy preponderance of depressive symptoms (appearing as depression with significant narcissistic traits; including extrapunitive tendencies/blame-shifting, entitlement and interpersonal exploitation; and provisionally considered narcissistic depression). The maprotiline was combined with mirtazapine (low-dose), sodium valproate and aripiprazole.

Absolute

 * Hypersensitivity to maprotiline or to other TCAs and TeCAs
 * Hypertrophy of the prostate gland with urine hesitancy
 * Closed angle glaucoma

Special caution needed

 * Concomitant treatment with a MAO inhibitor
 * Serious impairment of liver and kidney function
 * Epilepsy and other conditions that lower the seizure threshold (active brain tumors, alcohol withdrawal, other medications)
 * Serious cardiovascular conditions (arrhythmias, heart insufficiency, state after myocardial infarction etc.)
 * Treatment of patients under age 18

Suicidal patients
As with other antidepressants, maprotiline increased the risk compared to placebo of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in children, adolescents and young adults in short-term studies of major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Anyone considering the use of maprotiline or any other antidepressant in a child, adolescent, or young adult must balance this risk with the clinical need. Short-term studies did not show an increase in the risk of suicidality with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults beyond age 24; there was a reduction in risk with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults aged 65 and older. Depression and certain other psychiatric disorders are themselves associated with increases in the risk of suicide. Patients of all ages who are started on antidepressant therapy should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior. Families and caregivers should be advised of the need for close observation and communication with the prescriber. Maprotiline is not approved for use in pediatric patients.

Pregnancy and lactation
Reproduction studies have been performed in female laboratory rabbits, mice, and rats at doses up to 1.3, 7, and 9 times the maximum daily human dose respectively and have revealed no evidence of impaired fertility or harm to the fetus due to maprotiline. There are, however, no adequate and well controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, this drug should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.

Maprotiline is excreted in breast milk. At steady-state, the concentrations in milk correspond closely to the concentrations in whole blood. Caution should be exercised when maprotiline hydrochloride is administered to a nursing woman.

Side effects
The side-effect profile is comparable to other TCAs and TeCAS and many of the following are due to anticholinergic (which are less prominent than those of most TCAs) and antihistamine effects. Most often seen are:
 * Dizziness
 * Drowsiness
 * Somnolence
 * Fatigue
 * Dry mouth (and complications of long-term uncontrolled dry mouth such as dental caries)
 * Constipation
 * Vertigo
 * Nausea (rare, incidence of ~2%) and vomiting
 * Increased appetite and weight gain
 * Orthostatic hypotension, hypertension, sinus tachycardia, heart-block, arrhythmias and other cardiac effects
 * Sexual dysfunction in men: impotence, priapism, delayed ejaculation, anejaculation, decreased libido
 * Sexual dysfunction in women: decreased libido, vaginal dryness, painful sexual intercourse, anorgasmia
 * Allergic skin reactions such as rash or urticaria (more often than with other antidepressants). Rarely, severe skin reactions such as erythema multiforme can occur.
 * Photosensitivity
 * Agitation, confusion
 * Induction of hypomania or mania in patients with underlying bipolar affective disorder
 * Psychotic symptoms
 * Tremor
 * Extrapyramidal symptoms
 * Headache
 * Seizures (at high doses)
 * Rare haematological complications: leukopenia and agranulocytosis (dangerous fall in white blood cells)
 * Fever
 * Urinary retention

Maprotiline causes a strong initial sedation (first 2 to 3 weeks of therapy) and is therefore indicated to treat agitated patients or those with suicidal risks. It causes anticholinergic side effects (dry mouth, constipation, urinary hesitancy, etc.) with much lower incidence than amitriptyline. Originally, the manufacturer claimed that maprotiline is better tolerated than other TCAs and TeCAs. However, seizures, leukopenia and skin reactions occur more often with maprotiline than with comparable drugs (e.g., amitriptyline, protriptyline, mirtazapine). Indeed, seizures are greater risk for concern with maprotiline than with all other tricyclic antidepressants (rising from 75 mg, becoming significant at daily doses ≥ 200 m.g.), including clomipramine. It should thus be prescribed with particular, if not extreme, caution to people with a history of epilepsy/seizures of any other kind. In any case, the total daily dose should be kept to ≤ 225 milligrams.

Maprotiline has no known potential for abuse and psychological dependence.

Withdrawal
Withdrawal symptoms frequently seen when treatment with maprotiline is stopped abruptly (agitation, anxiety, insomnia, sometimes activation of mania or rebound depression) can be avoided by reducing the daily dose of maprotiline gradually by approximately 25% each week. If treatment has to be stopped at once for medical reasons, the use of a benzodiazepine (e.g., lorazepam, clonazepam, diazepam) for a maximum of 4 weeks as needed will usually suppress withdrawal symptoms.

Interactions
Maprotiline does have a wide range of possible interactions. Some are typical for TCAs and TeCAs, others are caused by specific metabolic effects (e.g., high plasma-protein-binding) of maprotiline:

Increased drug actions:
 * Other antidepressants, barbiturates, narcotics, sedating antihistamines, anticonvulsive drugs, alcohol – resulting in increased central depression and necessitating some caution when using any of these drugs alongside maprotiline
 * Drugs with potential anti-muscarinic/anti-cholinergic activity (antiparkinsonian agents, atropine, amantadine, clozapine and tricyclic antidepressants besides maprotiline) – resulting in increased anti-muscarinic effects (dry mouth, constipation, etc.)
 * Sympathomimetics (also those used in local anesthetics like noradrenaline) – sympathomimetic effects increased (increased blood-pressure, pulse-rate, paleness of skin, etc.)
 * Nitrates and antihypertensives (e.g., beta-blockers) – increased antihypertensive action with pronounced fall in blood pressure

Although concurrent administration of tricyclic antidepressants (likewise with SSRIs) and MAOIs has been considered particularly dangerous, even fatal, across various medical and pharmaceutical lines across the decades, the premise for this line of thinking, although commonly accepted, may be erroneous. Specialist-research into this and practical clinical experience involving the co-administration of tricyclics and MAOIs have suggested that it is only tricyclics with strong specific serotonin-reuptake inhibitory action (clomipramine and, to a lesser extent, imipramine) that are dangerous to give in combination with MAOIs. Other antidepressants; which may or may not have a significant serotoninergic background otherwise but either way lack in particularly appreciable reuptake-inhibition therein specifically (e.g., mirtazapine, amitriptyline, trazodone, lofepramine, nortriptyline); may be safe to take alongside MAOIs, where the likes of venlafaxine, SSRIs and clomipramine are not. With maprotiline, this has been demonstrated to be the case with moclobemide, a drug it is often compared and considered somewhat analogous (along certain lines) to, and, tentatively, brofaromine (a research-agent MAOI which was never brought to full marketing development). Moclobemide specifically, however, may increase maprptiline plasma-levels and may necessitate dose-modification(s).

In any case, however, it is very-strongly advised that an MAOI is added to the (compatible) tricyclic and not the other way around, as adding a tricyclic to an existing treatment-regime involving an MAOI may significantly increase the risk of going into hypertensive crisis.

Decreased drug actions:
 * Guanethidine, reserpine, guanfacine: anti-hypertensive effects decreased
 * Clonidine: anti-hypertensive effects decreased and risk of (massive) rebound hypertension.

Other types of interaction:
 * Drugs which induce certain enzymes in the liver, e.g., barbiturates, phenytoin, carbamazepine and oral anti-conceptive drugs, enhance the elimination of maprotiline and decrease its antidepressant effects. Additionally the blood-concentrations of phenytoin or carbamazepine may be increased, leading to a higher incidents of side effects.
 * The concomitant use of maprotiline and neuroleptics can lead to increased maprotiline blood-levels and to seizures. Combining maprotiline and thioridazine could induce severe arrhythmias.
 * Additionally, increased blood-levels of maprotiline are possible, if certain beta-blocking agents (e.g., propranolol) are given concomitantly.
 * Maprotiline may amplify the actions of coumarin-type anticoagulants (e.g., warfarin, phenprocoumon). The plasma-prothrombin-activity must be assessed closely in order to avoid overt bleedings.
 * Maprotiline can increase the actions of oral antidiabetic drugs (sulfonylureas) and insulin. Diabetic patients should have regular assessments of their blood-glucose-levels.
 * The concomitant application with fluoxetine or fluvoxamine may lead to significantly increased plasma-levels of maprotiline, with a correspondingly (and substantially) incidence of maprotiline side effects. Owing to the long half-lives of fluoxetine and fluvoxamine, this effect may persist for quite-some time.

Pharmacodynamics
Maprotiline exhibits strong effects as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor with only weak actions the reuptake of serotonin and dopamine. It is also a strong antagonist of the H1 receptor, a moderate antagonist of the 5-HT2 and α1-adrenergic receptors, and a weak antagonist of the D2 and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Maprotiline has also more recently been identified as a potent antagonist of the 5-HT7 receptor, with this action potentially playing an important role in its antidepressant effectiveness. The drug is a strong antihistamine, but unlike most TCAs, has minimal anticholinergic effects.

The pharmacological profile of maprotiline explains its antidepressant, sedative, anxiolytic, and sympathomimetic activities. In accordance to the pharmacological characteristics it is used in the treatment of depression, such as depression associated with agitation or anxiety. Additionally, it shows strong antagonism against reserpine-induced effects in animal studies, as do the other 'classical' antidepressants. Although maprotiline behaves in most regards as a 'first-generation antidepressant' it is commonly referred to as 'second-generation antidepressant'.

The postulated mechanism of maprotiline is that it acts primarily by potentiation of central adrenergic synapses by blocking reuptake of norepinephrine at nerve endings. This pharmacological action is thought to be primarily responsible for the drug's antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. It is a strong norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor with only weak effects on serotonin and dopamine reuptake. At higher doses, however, maprotiline increases serotonergic transmission and increases the level of serotonin available.

Pharmacokinetics
After oral use absorption is good. It binds to plasma proteins 80–90%. Maximal plasma concentration is reached 6 hours after use. The mean time to peak is 12 hours. The terminal half-life of averages 51 hours.

Chemistry

Maprotiline is a tetracyclic compound and is grouped with the TeCAs. Its chemical name is N-methyl-9,10-ethanoanthracen-9(10H)-propylamine. The drug has a dibenzobicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene (9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene) ring system; that is, a tricyclic anthracene ring system with an ethylene bridge across the central ring. This results in it having a unique three-dimensional central ring (a bicyclo[2.2.2]octane or 1,4-endoethylenecyclohexane ring) and being a tetracyclic rather than a tricyclic compound. However, it could also or alternatively be considered to be a tricyclic and hence a TCA. In addition to its heterocyclic ring system, maprotiline has an alkylamine side chain attached similarly to other TCAs (but notably unlike other TeCAs). In terms of the side chain, it is a secondary amine, and its chemical structure, aside from the ethylene link in the central ring, is similar to that of secondary amine TCAs like nortriptyline and protriptyline. In accordance, the pharmacology of maprotiline is very similar to that of secondary amine TCAs.

Maprotiline is very similar in structure to the anxiolytic, sedative, and muscle relaxant drug benzoctamine (Tacitin). The only structural difference between the two compounds is in the length of their side chain. However, this modification results in considerable differences in their pharmacological and therapeutic effects.

History
Maprotiline was developed by Ciba (now operated by Novartis). It was patented in 1966 and was first described in the literature in 1969. The drug was introduced for medical use in 1974. Generics are now widely available. It was introduced after most of the other TCAs but was the first TeCA to be developed and marketed, with the TeCAs mianserin and amoxapine following shortly thereafter and mirtazapine being introduced later on.

Generic names
Maprotiline is the English and French generic name of the drug and its INN, USAN, BAN, and DCF, while maprotiline hydrochloride is its USAN, USP, BANM and JAN. Its generic name in Spanish and Italian and its DCIT are maprotilina, in German is maprotilin, and in Latin is maprotilinum. The methanesulfonate (mesylate) salt is known unofficially as maprotiline methanesulfonate.

Brand names
Maprotiline is marketed throughout the world, mainly under the brand name Ludiomil. It is also available under a variety of other brand names including Deprilept, Maprolu, and Psymion among others.

Although it remains available across the world, it was discontinued in the United Kingdom in July 2006. Mylan, a key manufacturer of maprotiline in the United States, discontinued production in June 2021.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Maprotiline


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Paul Biegel

Paulus Johannes "Paul" Biegel (25 March 1925 – 21 October 2006) was a successful and prolific Dutch writer of children's literature.

Biography
Paul Biegel was born in Bussum in 1925. His father, Hermann Biegel, was of German descent, and owned a building materials shop. With his wife Madeleine Povel-Guillot he had nine children, six girls and three boys, of whom Paul was the youngest. He was not a prolific reader as a child, preferring to play outside. His favourite books were the fairy tales of the brothers Grimm and the works of Jules Verne. He studied in Bussum (primary school) and Amsterdam, graduating in 1945.

His first story, De ontevreden kabouter ("The unhappy gnome"), written when he was 14 years old, was printed in the newspaper De Tijd. He wanted to become a pianist, but decided that he didn't have enough talent. He went to the United States for a year after World War II, where he worked for The Knickerbocker Weekly. After his return, he worked as an editor for Dutch magazines like the Avrobode. He commenced Law Studies, but stopped these in 1953. He wrote several newspaper comics, the most important of which was Minter and Hinter, which appeared in Het Vrije Volk for ten stories and 579 episodes. In 1959, he started working in the comic studio of Marten Toonder as a comics writer for the Kappie series.

He only published his first book, De gouden gitaar, in 1962. He became one of the most important Dutch writers for children in 1965, when he received the Gouden Griffel for Het sleutelkruid. In 1973 he won the Staatsprijs voor kinder- en jeugdliteratuur literary award. He has written over 50 books, mostly published by Holland, and many of his books have been translated in English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Welsh, South African, Japanese, Turkish, Greek, and Spanish. His own favourites were De tuinen van Dorr and De soldatenmaker. Other authors he appreciated included J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and Hans Christian Andersen.

Paul Biegel lived in Amsterdam. He married Marijke Sträter in 1960, with whom he had a daughter, Leonie, in 1963, and in 1964 a son, Arthur, who committed suicide when he was 28. His marriage ultimately failed, and only at a later age did he publicly admit to being homosexual. He died in 2006 and was buried at Zorgvlied cemetery. In 2007, publishers Holland (publisher) and Lemniscaat started reissuing twenty of his best works in the Biegelbibliotheek.

Reworkings of classical books and stories

 * 1966: Sprookjes van Grimm
 * 1967: De rattevanger van Hameln
 * 1969: Sprookjesmolen
 * 1970: Sagen van Grimm
 * 1971: Een toren naar de maan
 * 1972: Reinaart de Vos
 * 1975: De fabels van Aesopus
 * 1995: Het beleg van Troje
 * 1997: De zwerftochten van Aeneas

Translations
Among the 35 books Paul Biegel translated into Dutch are The Borrowers series by Mary Norton, three books by Michael Foreman, two by John Burningham, three by Tony Ross, and four by Kaye Umansky.

Awards

 * Dutch State Award for Children's Literature (1973)
 * Woutertje Pieterse Prijs (1991: Anderland and 2000: Laatste verhalen van de eeuw)
 * Nienke van Hichtum-prijs (1973: De twaalf rovers)
 * Gouden Griffel (1965: Het sleutelkruid; 1972: De kleine kapitein and 1993: Nachtverhaal)
 * Zilveren Griffel (1972: De twaalf rovers; 1974: Het olifantenfeest; 1982: Haas; 1988: De rode prinses)
 * In 1996, Paul Biegel was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
 * In 1999, he was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

title: Paul Biegel


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George Steinbrenner

George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930 – July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving owner in club history, and the Yankees won seven World Series championships and 11 American League pennants under his ownership. His outspokenness and role in driving up player salaries made him one of the sport's most controversial figures. Steinbrenner was also involved in the Great Lakes and Gulf Coast shipping industry.

Originally known as a very hands-on owner, Steinbrenner earned the nickname "the Boss". He had a tendency to meddle in daily on-field decisions, and to hire and fire (and sometimes re-hire) managers. Former Yankees manager Dallas Green gave him the derisive nickname "Manager George". However, from the early 1990s onward, he mostly left the Yankees in the hands of the baseball operations staff and rarely interfered. He officially retired from day-to-day control of the team in 2008.

He died after suffering a heart attack in his Tampa home on the morning of July 13, 2010, the day of the 81st All-Star Game. The Yankees are now owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, for which Steinbrenner's four children have served as general partners.

Early life and education
Steinbrenner was born in Rocky River, Ohio, the only son of Rita (née Haley) and Henry George Steinbrenner II. His mother was an Irish immigrant who had changed her name from O'Haley to Haley. His father was of German descent and was a world-class track and field hurdler while at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in engineering in 1927, first in his class and a distinguished scholar in naval architecture. The elder Steinbrenner later became a wealthy shipping magnate who ran the family firm operating freight ships hauling ore and grain on the Great Lakes, inherited from his great-grandmother Sophia Steinbrenner and her mother Anna Minch. George III was named after his paternal grandfather, George Michael Steinbrenner II. Steinbrenner had two younger sisters, Susan and Judy. At age nine, the elder Steinbrenner staked George to a couple of hundred chickens, and he peddled hens and their eggs door to door. "I learned a lot about business from raising chickens," he told Sports Illustrated. "Half of my customers began buying because they were afraid of me."

In 1944, Steinbrenner entered Culver Military Academy in Northern Indiana, graduating in 1948. He received his B.A. from Williams College in 1952. While at Williams, George was an average student who led an active extracurricular life. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was an accomplished hurdler on the varsity track and field team, and served as sports editor of The Williams Record, played piano in the band, and played halfback on the football team in his senior year. He joined the United States Air Force after graduation, was commissioned a second lieutenant and was stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio. Following honorable discharge in 1954, he did post-graduate study at Ohio State University (1954–55), earning his master's degree in physical education.

He met his wife-to-be, Elizabeth Joan Zieg, in Columbus, and married her on May 12, 1956. The couple had two sons, Hank and Hal, and two daughters, Jessica Steinbrenner and Jennifer Steinbrenner-Swindal. The Steinbrenners also have numerous grandchildren. All four of the Steinbrenners' children eventually got divorced, some multiple times, resulting in several former-in-laws being removed from the Yankees' management.

Pre-Yankees career
While studying at Ohio State, he served as a graduate assistant to Buckeye football coach Woody Hayes. The Buckeyes were undefeated national champions that year, and won the Rose Bowl. Steinbrenner served as an assistant football coach at Northwestern University in 1955, and at Purdue University from 1956 to 1957.

Steinbrenner joined Kinsman Marine Transit Company in 1957, the Great Lakes shipping company that his great-grandfather Henry had purchased in 1901 from The Minch Transit Company, which was owned by a family relation, and renamed. Steinbrenner worked hard to successfully revitalize the company, which was suffering hardship during difficult market conditions. In its return to profitability, Kinsman emphasized grain shipments over ore. A few years later, with the help of a loan from a New York bank, Steinbrenner purchased the company from his family. He later became part of a group that purchased the American Shipbuilding Company, and, in 1967, he became its chairman and chief executive officer. By 1972, the company's gross sales were more than $100 million annually.

In 1960, against his father's wishes, Steinbrenner entered the sports franchise business for the first time with basketball's Cleveland Pipers, of the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL). Steinbrenner had hired John McClendon, who became the first African American coach in professional basketball and persuaded Jerry Lucas to join his team instead of the rival National Basketball Association. The Pipers switched leagues, to the new professional ABL in 1961; the new circuit was founded by Abe Saperstein, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters. The league and its teams experienced financial problems, and McClendon resigned in protest halfway through the season. However, the Pipers had won the first half of a split season. Steinbrenner replaced McClendon with former Boston Celtics star Bill Sharman, and the Pipers won the ABL championship in 1961–62. The ABL folded in December 1962, just months into its second season. Steinbrenner and his partners lost significant money on the venture, but Steinbrenner paid off all of his creditors and partners over the next few years.

With his burgeoning sports aspirations put on hold, Steinbrenner turned his attention to the theatre. His involvement with Broadway began with a short-lived 1967 play, The Ninety Day Mistress, in which he partnered with another rookie producer, James M. Nederlander. Whereas Nederlander threw himself into his family's business full-time, Steinbrenner invested in a mere half-dozen shows, including the 1974 Tony Award nominee for Best Musical, Seesaw, and the 1988 Peter Allen flop, Legs Diamond.

New York Yankees career
The Yankees had been struggling during their years under CBS ownership, which had acquired the team in 1965. In 1972, CBS chairman William S. Paley told team president E. Michael Burke the media company intended to sell the club. As Burke later told writer Roger Kahn, Paley offered to sell the franchise to Burke if he could find financial backing. Steinbrenner, who had participated in a failed attempt to buy the Cleveland Indians from Vernon Stouffer one year earlier, and who had been an investor in Buffalo's failed 1969 Major League Baseball expansion bid, was brought together with Burke by veteran baseball executive Gabe Paul.

On January 3, 1973, Steinbrenner and minority partner Burke led a group of investors, which included Nederlander, Lester Crown, John DeLorean, Nelson Bunker Hunt, and Marvin L. Warner, in purchasing the Yankees from CBS. For years, the selling price was reported to be $10 million. However, Steinbrenner later revealed that the deal included two parking garages that CBS had bought from the city, and soon after the deal closed, CBS bought back the garages for $1.2 million. The net cost to the group for the Yankees was, therefore, $8.8 million.

The announced intention was that Burke would continue to run the team as club president. But Burke later became angry when he found out that Paul had been brought in as a senior Yankee executive, reducing his authority, and quit the team presidency in April 1973. (Burke remained a minority owner of the club into the following decade, but as fellow minority owner John McMullen stated, "There is nothing in life quite so limited as being a limited partner of George Steinbrenner." ) Paul was officially named president of the club on April 19. It would be the first of many high-profile departures with employees who crossed paths with "The Boss". At the conclusion of the 1973 season, two more prominent names departed: manager Ralph Houk, who resigned and took a similar position with the Detroit Tigers; and general manager Lee MacPhail, who became president of the American League.

The 1973 off-season would continue to be controversial when Steinbrenner and Paul fought to hire former Oakland Athletics manager Dick Williams, who had resigned immediately after leading the team to its second straight World Series title. However, because Williams was still under contract to Oakland, the subsequent legal wrangling prevented the Yankees from hiring him. On the first anniversary of the team's ownership change, the Yankees hired former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Bill Virdon to lead the team on the field.

During the 1981 World Series, Steinbrenner provided a colorful backdrop to the Yankees' loss of the series. After a Game 3 loss in Los Angeles, Steinbrenner called a press conference in his hotel room, showing off his left hand in a cast and various other injuries that he claimed were earned in a fight with two Dodgers fans in the hotel elevator. Nobody came forward about the fight, leading to the belief that he had made up the story of the fight to light a fire under the Yankees. After the series, he issued a public apology to the City of New York for his team's performance, while at the same time assuring the fans that plans to put the team together for 1982 would begin immediately. He was criticized heartily by players and press alike for doing so, as most people felt losing in the World Series was not something requiring an apology.

Facial hair policy
Steinbrenner enforced a military-style grooming code: All players, coaches, and male executives were forbidden to display any facial hair other than mustaches (except for religious reasons), and scalp hair could not be grown below the collar. (Long sideburns and "mutton chops" were not specifically banned.) The policy led to some unusual and comical incidents.

During the 1973 home opener against the Cleveland Indians, as the Yankees, caps removed, were standing at attention for the National Anthem, Steinbrenner, in the owner's box next to the New York dugout, noticed that several players' hair was too long for his standards. As he did not yet know the players' names, he wrote down the uniform numbers of the offenders (Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer, and Sparky Lyle), and had the list, along with the demand that their hair be trimmed immediately, delivered to Houk. The order was reluctantly relayed to the players.

In 1983, at Steinbrenner's behest, Yankee coach Yogi Berra ordered Goose Gossage to remove a beard he was growing. Gossage responded by shaving away the beard but leaving a thick exaggerated mustache extending down the upper lip to the jaw line, a look Gossage still sports to this day.

The most infamous incident involving facial hair occurred in 1991. Although Steinbrenner was suspended, Yankees management ordered Don Mattingly, who was then sporting a mullet-like hairstyle, to get a haircut. When Mattingly refused, he was benched. This led to a huge media frenzy with reporters and talk radio repeatedly mocking the team. The WPIX broadcasting crew of Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Murcer, and Tom Seaver lampooned the policy on a pregame show with Rizzuto playing the role of a barber sent to enforce the rule. Mattingly would eventually be reinstated. Coincidentally, The Simpsons episode "Homer at the Bat", which was filmed earlier that year, included Mattingly as a guest star who is suspended from play by Mr. Burns for his sideburns being too long, despite shaving the area of his head above where sideburns grow. In 1995, Mattingly again ran afoul of the policy when he grew a goatee.

In 2005, after signing with the Yankees, former Boston Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon, who was known for his long beard and shoulder-length hair during his time with the Red Sox, said about the policy: "Without a doubt, George Steinbrenner has a policy and I'm going to stick to it. Our policy with the Yankees is to go out there and win and we're going to try and bring another championship to them." Steinbrenner later noted, "He looks like a Yankee, he sounds like a Yankee and he is a Yankee." Damon claimed he was already planning on cutting his hair after the 2005 season.

Criticism of Dave Winfield
After the 1980 season, Steinbrenner made headlines by signing Dave Winfield to a 10-year, $23 million contract, making Winfield baseball's highest-paid player. In 1985, Steinbrenner derided Winfield's poor performance in a key September series against the Toronto Blue Jays:

"Where is Reggie Jackson? We need a Mr. October or a Mr. September. Winfield is Mr. May. My big guys are not coming through. The guys who are supposed to carry the team are not carrying the team. They aren't producing. If I don't get big performances out of Winfield, Griffey and Baylor, we can't win."

This criticism eventually became somewhat of an anachronism, as many believed Steinbrenner made the statement following the 1981 World Series. Part of that comment later led Ken Griffey Jr. to list the Yankees as one team for which he would never play.

In 2001, Winfield cited Steinbrenner's animosity as a factor in his decision to enter the Hall of Fame as a representative of his first team, the San Diego Padres, rather than the team that increased his national recognition, the Yankees.

Reinstatement and championship years
Steinbrenner was reinstated in 1993. Unlike past years, he was somewhat less inclined to interfere in the Yankees' baseball operations. He left day-to-day baseball matters in the hands of Gene Michael and other executives and allowed promising farm-system players such as Bernie Williams to develop instead of trading them for established players. Steinbrenner's having "got religion" (in the words of New York Daily News reporter Bill Madden) paid off. After contending only briefly two years earlier, the 1993 Yankees were in the American League East race with the eventual champion Toronto Blue Jays until September.

The 1994 Yankees were the American League East leaders when a players' strike wiped out the rest of the season. Coincidentally, a players' strike had aided their 1981 playoff effort.

In 1995 the team returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1981. However, Steinbrenner elected to fire manager Buck Showalter after the series ended in a decisive Game 5 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He also fired Michael from the GM spot after the season ended. Three days after firing Showalter on October 31, rankled by the angry responses by fans, he attempted to woo him back (while presumably moving Joe Torre to a desk job rather than the manager position). Showalter elected to honor the word he gave to the Arizona Diamondbacks and thus Steinbrenner went with Torre to manage the team. In 1996, the Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves in six games to win the World Series. They went on to Series wins in, , and , and fell short of a fourth straight title in with a seventh-game loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Yankees then made the playoffs every season through 2007. In 2003 they beat the Boston Red Sox to win the AL pennant, but lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins, denying Steinbrenner—who had won the Stanley Cup in June of that year as part-owner of the New Jersey Devils—the distinction of winning championships in two major sports leagues in the same year.

In 2008, the Yankees ended their postseason run with a third-place finish in the American League East. However, in 2009, the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series to win a 27th championship, seven of which had been won under Steinbrenner's ownership.

Retirement
Steinbrenner named Steve Swindal, his son-in-law, to be his successor in June 2005. When Swindal and Jennifer Steinbrenner divorced in 2007, the Yankees bought Swindal out of his financial stake in the team, with Hal Steinbrenner succeeding Swindal as chairman of Yankee Global Enterprises.

From 2006 to his death, George Steinbrenner spent most of his time in Tampa, Florida. After the 2007 season and the decision not to bring back manager Joe Torre, Steinbrenner was in poor enough health that he officially retired and handed control of the Yankees to his sons Hal and Hank Steinbrenner. The transition was formally completed in 2008.

After ceding day-to-day control of the team, Steinbrenner made few public appearances and gave no interviews. Associates and family members refused to comment on rampant speculation concerning his declining health, specifically rumors that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. A 2007 interviewer said: "He doesn't look all right. In fact, he looks dreadful. His body is bloated; his jawline has slackened into a triple chin; his skin looks as if a dry-cleaner bag has been stretched over it. Steinbrenner's face, pale and swollen, has a curiously undefined look. His features seem frozen in a permanent rictus of careworn disbelief." The Yankees went to great lengths to prevent anyone outside Steinbrenner's immediate family and closest business associates from speaking to him, or even getting a glimpse of him on the rare occasions when he made an appearance at Yankee Stadium. Temporary curtains were set up to block views of his entry and exit routes, and no one was allowed near the vehicles transporting him. The press elevator carrying media members downstairs to the interview areas were shut down before he arrived, and again toward the end of the game while he departed.

Steinbrenner made a rare appearance in the Bronx on the field for the 79th All-Star Game on July 15, 2008. Wearing dark glasses, he walked slowly into the stadium's media entrance with the aid of several companions, leaning upon one of them for support. He later was driven out on to the field along with his son Hal at the end of the lengthy pre-game ceremony in which the All-Stars were introduced at their fielding positions along with 49 of the 63 living Hall of Famers.

In subsequent occasional visits to spring training, regular-season games, and other outings, he used a wheelchair.

On April 13, 2010, Derek Jeter and Joe Girardi privately presented the first 2009 World Series Championship ring to Steinbrenner in his stadium suite. He was "almost speechless", according to reports.

George Steinbrenner's estimated net worth was $1.15 billion in 2009 according to the Forbes 400 List in Forbes magazine issued in September 2009.

George Steinbrenner was the first owner of a baseball team to sell cable TV rights (to MSG Network).

Death
On July 13, 2010, the morning of the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Steinbrenner died of a heart attack at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Florida. His death came nine days after his 80th birthday, two days after the death of longtime Yankee Stadium public address announcer Bob Sheppard, and eight days before that of former Yankee manager Ralph Houk. On July 14, the Yankees announced that players and coaches would wear a Steinbrenner commemorative patch on the left breast of their home and road uniforms, and a Bob Sheppard commemorative patch on the left arm. July 15 marked the Yankees' first home game at Yankee Stadium after both the All-Star break and Steinbrenner's passing. Prior to the game, the team presented a mural above the right-center field bleachers in the late owner's honor while closer Mariano Rivera laid a bouquet of flowers on home plate. The Steinbrenner family added a monument to Monument Park on September 20, 2010, to honor Steinbrenner. He is buried at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Trinity, Florida.

Off the field
In addition to being an intense boss to his on-field employees, Steinbrenner was also known for pressuring and changing off-field employees (including various publicity directors), sometimes chewing them out in public. Longtime Cardinals announcer Jack Buck once said that he had seen Steinbrenner's yacht and that, "It was a beautiful thing to observe, with all 36 oars working in unison." Former sportscaster Hank Greenwald, who called Yankee games on WABC radio for two years, once said he knew when Steinbrenner was in town by how tense the office staff was.

Steinbrenner usually kept his complaints about the team broadcasters he approved of (except for the YES Network crew, who have generally not been his direct employees) out of the newspapers. However, he was known to be upset with the sometimes blunt commentary of former broadcaster Jim Kaat and former analyst Tony Kubek.

The 1986 World Series was called "Steinbrenner's nightmare", because it was a showdown between two of the Yankees' biggest rivals, their cross-town rival the New York Mets and their most hated rival, the Boston Red Sox. As a result, Steinbrenner wrote articles in the New York Post on the World Series. The Mets won that World Series, which relieved many Yankee fans. In addition, Yankees fans attended the parade saying that "anyone who beats Boston is worth coming down for."

Steinbrenner had a reputation as a domineering boss. Only three Yankee employees were continuously employed from the start of Steinbrenner's ownership in 1973 until the end of his tenure. One of those is long time Head Athletic Trainer Gene Monahan, who in 2010 missed his first spring training in 48 years after being diagnosed with cancer.

Harvey Greene, the Yankees' Director of Media Relations from 1986 to 1989, talked about the experience of working under Steinbrenner:
 * "When the team was on the road, you'd come back to your hotel late at night, and if your phone light was on, you knew that either there had been a death in the family or George was looking for you. After a while, you started to hope that there had been a death in the family."

George Steinbrenner was involved with thoroughbred horse racing from the early 1970s. He owned Kinsman Stud Farm in Ocala, Florida and raced under the name Kinsman Stable.

Charitable work
Steinbrenner gave to many charitable causes. In 1982, George, "while attending the funeral of a police officer killed in the line of duty, was deeply moved by the ceremony in which the American flag was folded military-style and presented to the officer's surviving spouse and young children". "He was concerned about their education and who would help with the cost, so he established the Silver Shield Foundation," said Foundation's Co-founder James E. Fuchs, a close friend of Mr. Steinbrenner's. He often donated to the families of fallen police officers in the Tampa Police Department and the New York City Police Department in addition to college scholarships for many poor children.

During the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Steinbrenner comforted United States Olympic Swimming medalist Ron Karnaugh through his father's death and maintained a relationship with him until his death. At his residence in Tampa, Steinbrenner supported numerous individuals and charities including the Boys and Girls Club as well as the Salvation Army. Mel Stottlemyre recalled that during his myeloma cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital he had mentioned in passing to Steinbrenner how he regretted not being able to watch Yankee games from his room. Stottlemyre heard that Steinbrenner went all the way to Mayor Rudy Giuliani to ensure he was able to watch the broadcasts from his room. Steinbrenner had also donated $1 million to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital where a wing was named in his honor.

Politics
Steinbrenner donated to numerous senators and representatives including $6,300 to Chuck Schumer, $9,600 to Charles Rangel, $1,000 to Peter W. Rodino, and $750 to George J. Mitchell.

In 1988 and 1992 he supported George H. W. Bush. In the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida Steinbrenner, who had voted for George W. Bush, donated $5,000 to the Bush-Cheney recount fund. In 2008 he donated to Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain giving $2,300 to Clinton's campaign, $4,600 to Giuliani's campaign, and $15,000 to McCain Victory 2008.

Management style
Early on, Steinbrenner became infamous in Cleveland circles for berating anyone who dared cross him. This style followed him to the Yankees; he quickly became infamous for overseeing rapid turnover of management personnel. In his first 23 seasons, he changed managers 20 times; Billy Martin alone was fired and rehired five times. During his first 26 years with the club, he went through 13 publicity directors. "The first time George fires you, it's very traumatic," oft-fired Yankees flack Harvey Greene said. "The three or four times after that, it's like, Great! I've got the rest of the day off." Greene, the Yankees' PR director was fired by Steinbrenner, however the next day Steinbrenner's assistant called Greene and asked why he wasn't at work. After arriving at work late, Steinbrenner told Greene "If you're late again, you're fired."

He employed 11 general managers over 30 years. He was equally famous for pursuing high-priced free agents (i.e., Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, and Dave Winfield) and then feuding with them. In July 1978, Billy Martin famously said of Steinbrenner and his $3 million outfielder Reggie Jackson, "The two were meant for each other. One's a born liar, and the other's convicted." The comment resulted in Martin's first departure, though officially he resigned (tearfully), before Yankees President Al Rosen could carry out Steinbrenner's dictum to fire him.

David Wells recalled that he and Steinbrenner almost got into a fight during a heated argument. Wells later apologized to Steinbrenner for threatening to fight him.

Illegal campaign contributions to Nixon
The "convicted" part of Billy Martin's famous 1978 "liar and convicted" comment referred to Steinbrenner's connection to Richard Nixon; in 1974, Steinbrenner pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to Nixon's re-election campaign, and to a felony charge of obstruction of justice. Faced with a cost overrun problem with the United States Commerce Department, Steinbrenner gave six of his American Shipbuilding employees "special bonuses" of $25,000 and directed them to then turn around and personally donate the funds to Nixon's Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP).

Steinbrenner originally said he would fight the charges in court, but in August 1974, two weeks after Nixon resigned, Steinbrenner pleaded guilty to two charges in the case. He was personally fined $15,000 and his company American Shipbuilding was assessed an additional $20,000. On November 27 of that year, MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended him for two years, but later commuted it to fifteen months. Ronald Reagan pardoned Steinbrenner in January 1989, one of the final acts of his presidency.

Ban from management and reinstatement
On July 30, 1990, Steinbrenner was banned permanently from day-to-day management (but not ownership) of the Yankees by MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent for paying a gambler named Howard Spira $40,000 to dig up "dirt" on Winfield. Winfield had sued the Yankees for failing to contribute $300,000 to his foundation, a guaranteed stipulation in his contract. Vincent proposed a two-year suspension, but Steinbrenner wanted to have it worded as an "agreement" that had him leave baseball rather than a suspension in order to protect his reputation with the U.S. Olympic Committee (he also cited a reason of wanting to see his son take over). After considerable negotiation with Vincent's office, Robert Nederlander, one of Steinbrenner's theatre partners and a limited partner in the Yankees organization, became the managing general partner. After Nederlander resigned in 1992, he was succeeded by Joe Molloy, George's son-in-law. Two years later, Steinbrenner asked to be reinstated (having been convinced by owners such as Jerry Reinsdorf that he had made a terrible mistake). Vincent allowed him to be reinstated on the condition that he would drop some lawsuits he had others file against Vincent.

In the media
Steinbrenner poked fun at himself in the media; his frequent firings and rehirings of manager Billy Martin were lampooned in a '70s Miller Lite beer commercial in which Steinbrenner tells Martin "You're fired!" to which Martin replies "Oh, no, not again!" After one of Martin's real-life rehirings, the commercial was resurrected, only with Steinbrenner's line redubbed to say "You're hired!" The two commercials would sometimes alternate depending on Martin's status with the team.

In 1988 he was featured heavily in the William Goldman and Mike Lupica book Wait Till Next Year which looked at life inside the Yankees over a whole season (among other New York sports teams).

He hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) on October 20, 1990, at the same time his former outfielder and Yankee manager, Lou Piniella, led the Cincinnati Reds to a World Series victory. In the opening sketch, he dreamt of a Yankees team managed, coached, and entirely played by himself. In other sketches, he chewed out the SNL "writing staff" (notably including Al Franken) for featuring him in a mock Slim Fast commercial with other ruthless leaders such as Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin and played a folksy convenience store manager whose business ethic is virtually the complete opposite of that of the real Steinbrenner.

In The Simpsons episode "Homer at the Bat", Mr. Burns fires Don Mattingly for refusing to shave sideburns only Burns could see. It is often assumed that this was a parody of an argument Steinbrenner and Mattingly had in real life regarding Mattingly's hair length. However, the episode was actually recorded a year before the suspension occurred, and was nothing more than a coincidence. As Mattingly walks off the baseball field, he states, "I still like him [Burns] better than Steinbrenner."

He appeared as himself in the Albert Brooks comedy The Scout. In 1991, he played himself in of Good Sports, with Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal.

In the 1994 computer game Superhero League of Hoboken, one of the schemes of the primary antagonist, Dr. Entropy, is to resurrect George Steinbrenner to bring chaos to the world and rule together. The superheroes foil his plan by resurrecting Billy Martin.

After a public chastising of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter for "partying too much", the two appeared in a Visa commercial club-hopping. A 2004 Visa commercial depicted Steinbrenner in the trainer's room at Yankee Stadium, suffering from an arm injury, unable to sign any checks, including that of his then-current manager Joe Torre, who spends most of the commercial treating Steinbrenner as if he were an important player.

George Will once described Steinbrenner as an "error machine" and a "baseball dumb-o-meter".

Steinbrenner also was a fan of professional wrestling. He wrote the foreword of the 2005 Dusty Rhodes autobiography and was a regular at old Tampa Armory cards in the 1970s and 1980s. In March 1989, he appeared in the front row of the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) Saturday Night's Main Event XX broadcast, even interacting with manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan at one point (Heenan remarked about the guy he managed in the ring at the time to Steinbrenner "I've got a ring full of Winfield"). In December 1990, Steinbrenner made another appearance on WWF TV in the front row during a Superstars of Wrestling taping held in Tampa's SunDome. Once again he interacted with Heenan and the wrestler he was managing at the time Curt Hennig. At WWF WrestleMania VII, Steinbrenner, WWF owner Vince McMahon, and NFL announcer Paul Maguire filmed a skit with the trio debating instant replay. He was also present in the front row of an edition of WCW Monday Nitro in 1996, and in the front row of another edition as well early 1998, when the event took place in Tampa.

At the funeral of his long-time friend Otto Graham in December 2003, Steinbrenner fainted, leading to extensive media speculation that he was in ill health.

New York Daily News cartoonist Bill Gallo often cited Steinbrenner's German heritage by drawing him in a Prussian military uniform, complete with spiked helmet, gold epaulettes and medals, calling him "General von Steingrabber".

In ESPN's miniseries The Bronx is Burning, he is portrayed by Oliver Platt.

Seinfeld caricature
George Steinbrenner appeared as a character in the situation comedy Seinfeld, when George Costanza worked for the Yankees for several seasons. Mitch Mitchell and Lee Bear portrayed the character, and Larry David provided voice-over performances whenever the character spoke. Steinbrenner's full face was never shown, and the character was always viewed from the back in scenes set in his office at Yankee Stadium. The character appeared in the episodes "The Opposite", "The Secretary", "The Race", "The Jimmy", "The Wink", "The Hot Tub", "The Caddy", "The Calzone", "The Bottle Deposit", "The Nap", "The Millennium", "The Muffin Tops", and "The Finale".

The fictional Steinbrenner talks nonstop, regardless of whether anyone is listening, and sometimes refers to himself as "Big Stein". In "The Wink", Steinbrenner mentions all of the people he fired, saying Billy Martin four times, and mentions then-current manager Buck Showalter, but then quickly swears Costanza to silence. Though intended as a joke, two weeks after the episode aired the Yankees announced that they had parted ways with Showalter.

Steinbrenner's involvement with Seinfeld began when he refused a request to make a cameo appearance and permit a Yankees pennant to appear; the show nonetheless used the pennant. A year later, Steinbrenner was asked to permit a Yankees uniform to appear on the sixth-season episode, "The Chaperone". The owner was still angry about the unauthorized pennant, and knew so little about the show that after reading the script he believed George Costanza had been named after him as an insult. He refused to permit the uniform's use unless the character was renamed. After watching the show and enjoying both it and the Costanza character, however, Steinbrenner approved the uniform, and later said he felt the show's portrayal of him was unflattering but essentially accurate to how he was at the time. He filmed three scenes for the Seinfeld season 7 finale, "The Invitations", but they were edited out when the time of the episode ran longer than allowed.

Jerry Seinfeld said after Steinbrenner's death: "Who else could be a memorable character on a television show without actually appearing on the show? You felt George even though he wasn't there. That's how huge a force of personality he was."

Awards and honors

 * Seven-time World Series champion as owner of the NY Yankees (1977, 1978, 1996, 1998–2000, 2009)
 * Two-time Stanley Cup champion as owner of the NJ Devils (2000, 2003)
 * Three-time Outstanding Team ESPY Award winner as owner of the Yankees (1997, 1999, 2001)
 * The Flying Wedge Award
 * 1992 Tampa Metro Civitan Club's Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award.
 * Steinbrenner Band Hall at the University of Florida named in his honor
 * George M. Steinbrenner High School in Lutz, Florida named in his honor. Steinbrenner was a generous contributor to the Tampa Bay area.
 * Yankees spring training field named George M. Steinbrenner Field in March 2008 in his honor
 * The entrance to the new Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill named for Steinbrenner and his family.
 * A life-size bronze statue of Steinbrenner was placed in front of the stadium in January 2011.
 * Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1969

title: George Steinbrenner


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West Midlands Metro

The West Midlands Metro is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. The network has 33 stops with a total of 14 mi of track; it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via the towns of Bilston, West Bromwich and Wednesbury, on a mixture of former railway lines and urban on-street running. The system is owned by the public body Transport for West Midlands, and operated by Midland Metro Limited, a company wholly owned by the West Midlands Combined Authority.

During August 1995, a 25-year contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of Line 1 was awarded to the Altram consortium; construction commenced three months later. It was launched on 30 May 1999 as Midland Metro, partly using the disused Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line. During 2006, Ansaldo and John Laing Group both withdrew from the consortium, thus day-to-day operation of the Metro was taken over by the remaining partner, National Express. In October 2018, the National Express concession ended and the system was taken over by Transport for West Midlands, the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

The line originally terminated at Birmingham Snow Hill station at the edge of the city centre, but following an extension opened in December 2015 it now serves the central core of Birmingham, including the principal regional mainline station, Birmingham New Street. Following further extensions the line now terminates at Edgbaston Village since 2022. At the other end of the line, an extension to Wolverhampton station was opened on 17 September 2023. The Metro was originally operated by a fleet of 16 AnsaldoBreda T-69 trams; these were replaced during the 2010s by a newer fleet of 42 CAF Urbos 3.

Construction of a new branch line from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill was approved in March 2019, started in February 2020 and was intended to be completed for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but has been severely delayed; it is currently scheduled to be completed at least to Dudley by 2025. An additional branch line running to Birmingham's Eastside via Curzon Street – the region's planned High Speed 2 terminus – and terminating at Digbeth is also under construction as of 2024. There are also proposals to expand this branch further towards Chelmsley Wood (Solihull) and out to Birmingham Airport.

History
Birmingham once had an extensive tram network run by Birmingham Corporation Tramways. However, as in most British cities, the network was wound down and closed by the local authority, with the last tram running in 1953.

1984 proposals
There had been proposals for a light rail or Metro system in Birmingham and the Black Country put forward as early as the 1950s and 1960s, ironically at a time when some of the region's lines and services were beginning to be cut back. However, serious inquiry into the possibility started in 1981 when the West Midlands County Council and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive formed a joint planning committee to look at light rail as a means of solving the conurbation's congestion problems. In the summer of 1984 they produced a report entitled "Rapid Transit for the West Midlands" which set out ambitious proposals for a £500 million network of ten light rail routes which would be predominantly street running, but would include some underground sections in Birmingham city centre. One of the proposed routes would have used part of the existing line as far as West Bromwich.

The scheme suffered from several drawbacks, one being that three of the proposed routes, from Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield, Shirley, and Dorridge would take over existing railways, and would have included the conversion into a tramway of the Cross-City Line, between Aston and Blake Street, ending direct rail services to Lichfield. The northern section of the North Warwickshire Line was also to be converted as far as Shirley station, leaving a question mark over existing train services to Stratford-upon-Avon. Tram tracks would also run alongside the existing line to Solihull and Dorridge, with local train services ended.

The most serious drawback however, which proved fatal to the scheme, was that the first proposed route of the network, between Five Ways and Castle Bromwich via the city centre would have involved the demolition of 238 properties. This invoked strong opposition from local residents. The scheme was spearheaded by Wednesfield Labour councillor Phil Bateman, but was eventually abandoned in late 1985 in the face of public opposition over the necessity of demolishing hundreds of houses, and the Transport Executive was unable to find a member of parliament willing to sponsor an enabling Bill.

1988 proposals
Following the abolition of the West Midlands County Council and establishment of a new Passenger Transport Authority in 1986, a new light-rail scheme under the name "Midland Metro" was revived with a different set of lines. The first of up to 15 lines was intended to be operating by the end of 1993, and a network of 200 kilometres was planned to be in use by 2000.

In February 1988, it was announced that the first route, Line 1, would be between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, using much of the mothballed trackbed of the former Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line, a route not included in the 1984 recommended network, partly as at that stage the section between Wednesbury and Bilston was still in use, not closing until 1992. The Wednesbury to Birmingham section had closed back in 1972, and the section between Bilston and Wolverhampton was last used in 1983.

A Bill to give West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive powers to build the line was deposited in Parliament in November 1988, and became an Act of Parliament a year later, with completion expected by the mid-1990s.

A three-line network was initially planned, and powers were also obtained to build two further routes. Firstly an extension of Line 1 through the city centre to Five Ways, then a second line, Midland Metro Line 2, running to Chelmsley Wood, and then Birmingham Airport. A third line, Line 3 was also proposed, running from Line 1 at Wolverhampton to Walsall, using much of the disused trackbed of the Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway, and then, using the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill trackbed of the South Staffordshire Line (which would close in 1993), running southwards to Dudley intersecting with Line 1 along the route. This would provide a direct link with the new Merry Hill Shopping Centre, which was built between 1984 and 1989.

Construction of Line 1
During August 1995, a 25-year contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of Line 1 was awarded to the Altram consortium; construction commenced three months later. The estimated construction cost in 1995 was £145 million of which loans and grants from central government accounted for £80M, the European Regional Development Fund contributed £31M, while the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority provided £17.1M and Altram contributed £11.4M.

By May 1997, construction work was reportedly 50 per cent complete and track-laying had been progressing at 0.5 km per week. However, the targeted completion date of August 1998 was missed by ten months, leading to compensation being paid by Altram. The original part of Line 1, Birmingham to Wolverhampton, was opened on 30 May 1999.

Further development
Some 25 years later, Line 2 and Line 3 have not been built. In 1997, Centro accepted that they were unable to get funding for the proposed lines, and therefore adopted a strategy of expanding the system in "bite-sized chunks", with the city-centre extension of Line 1 as the first priority. The intention was that the first decade of the 21st century would see the completion of the first of these projects.

Work on the Birmingham Metro tram extension began in June 2012, launched by transport minister Norman Baker. The dig was begun at the junction of Corporation Street and Bull Street, with work to move water pipes and power cables. On 6 December 2015, trams entered service on the extension to Bull Street.

Route

For nearly two decades, Line 1 between Birmingham to Wolverhampton was the solitary operating section of the Midland Metro. It runs mostly along the trackbed of the former Great Western Railway line between the two cities which was closed in phases between 1972 and 1992. Originally, the line terminated at Birmingham Snow Hill station, using the space of one of the former rail platforms. However, between 2015 and 2016, the line was extended across Birmingham city centre as far as Grand Central. From December 2019, trams terminated at Library tram stop next to the Library of Birmingham, and in July 2022 the line was extended further to Edgbaston Village tram stop.

From the Grand Central tram stop, which allows interchange with the National Rail network at Birmingham New Street station, West Midlands Metro then runs on street through the city-centre to Birmingham Snow Hill station. From there, the line runs north-west, and for the first few miles it runs alongside the Birmingham to Worcester railway line, before the two diverge. Two stations on this stretch (Jewellery Quarter and The Hawthorns) are also tram/railway interchange stations.

At the northern end trams leave the railway trackbed at Priestfield to run along Bilston Road to Wolverhampton St George's. From September 2023 trams terminate at Wolverhampton station instead although the original terminus remains open.

The original proposal was to run into the former Wolverhampton Low Station but this was abandoned as it was felt that the terminus would be too remote from the city centre. A loop around the city centre was also planned but this has also not been proceeded with.

Stops
There are 33 tram stops in use on the route.

Frequencies
Mondays to Saturdays, services run at ten-minute intervals during the day. Sunday day service is twelve-minute intervals and all Evening service is at fifteen-minute intervals. Trams take roughly 55 minutes to complete the route.

Current fleet
West Midlands Metro operates 21 trams, with more on order. In summary:

In February 2012, Centro announced that it was planning a £44.2million replacement of the entire existing T-69 tram fleet. CAF was named preferred bidder for 19 to 25 Urbos 3 trams. A£40million order for 20 was signed, with options for five more. The new fleet provided an increased service of ten trams per hour in each direction, with an increased capacity of 210 passengers per tram (compared to 156 passengers on the T69 trams).

The first four new trams entered service on 5 September 2014; all of the T-69s had been replaced by August 2015.

In October 2019, WMCA awarded CAF a contract to supply an additional 21 Urbos 3 trams worth £83.5million for the expanding network, with the option to purchase a further 29. The contract includes technical support and battery management services over 30years.

Cracks were found in a couple of the new trams during routine inspection in June 2021 leading to all services being briefly suspended. Services were suspended again in November 2021 for four weeks as further inspections had discovered that more significant permanent repairs were required.

The service was suspended again on 20 March 2022 for replacement of body panels and recommenced on 9 June 2022.

Former fleet
West Midlands Metro has previously operated the following trams:

T-69
The T-69s were built in Italy by AnsaldoBreda (now Hitachi Rail Italy), and were used only on the Midland Metro (as it was called then). After withdrawal, all sixteen were transferred to the tram test centre at Long Marston. Most of the trams were sold for scrap, but four of them still remain at Long Marston.

Track
The West Midlands Metro is a standard gauge double-track tramway. Trams are driven manually under a mix of line-of-sight and signals. Turnback crossovers along the line, including in the street section, have point indicators.

On the trackbed section Birmingham to Priestfield, signals are at Black Lake level crossing, Wednesbury Parkway, and Metro Centre. The street section has signals at every set of traffic lights, tied into the road signals to allow tram priority.

Tram stop design
The tram stops are unstaffed raised platforms with two open-fronted cantilever shelters equipped with seats, a 'live' digital display of services, closed circuit television, and an intercom linked to Metro Centre.

Power supply
Some of the line is electrified at 750 V DC using overhead lines, and that system was renewed in 2010/11, requiring short-term closures. The current trams have batteries, and charge at specially adapted tram stops, eliminating the need for visible power infrastructure within certain city sections.

Depot
The Metro Centre control room, stabling point and depot is near Wednesbury Great Western Street tram stop, on land once used as railway sidings.

In January 2023, construction began to expand the depot.

Fares and ticketing
Unlike many other tram and train networks in the UK, West Midlands Metro does not offer ticket machines or ticket offices at tram stops although machines were provided when the system opened. They were later replaced by conductors. Single, return, and all-day tickets are sold by the on-tram conductors. Tickets valid for 1, 4, or 52 weeks are sold from seven "Travel Shops" located around the West Midlands, though only four are in locations served by the Metro.

Up until 2018 single, return, and day tickets could only be purchased with cash or Swift cards. Contactless payment cards are now accepted, though notes larger than £10 are not. Using a Swift card attracts a small discount, usually 10p.

As well as the above, West Midlands Metro accepts a range of interavailable Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) tickets such as nbus+Metro and, which can be bought on buses and at railway stations, as well as on the trams.

Cash fares are distance-related. The scale was originally intended to be broadly comparable with buses, but this caused the system to run at a significant loss and fares rose. In January 2013, the adult single fare from Birmingham to Wolverhampton was £2 by bus and £3.60 by tram, although the tram journey is much quicker even when the bus routes are congestion-free. By 2016 the tram fare had risen to £4. In November 2013, Birmingham City Council indicated plans to introduce a smart-card system (similar to Transport for London's Oyster card) to improve access, alongside a range of measures including a new Tube-style map and electric bus networks. This has now launched and is called the Swift card.

In March 2022, the fare system was amended again, with the graduated fares replaced by four Zones:

 * Zone 1 – Edgbaston Village to Jewellery Quarter (Birmingham City Centre)
 * Zone 2 – Jewellery Quarter to Black Lake
 * Zone 3 – Black Lake to Priestfield
 * Zone 4 – Priestfield to Wolverhampton station (Wolverhampton City Centre)

Fares were now charged on a per-Zone basis, with fares payable for travel in Zone 1 slightly higher than Zones 2-4 (this applies to single Zone, two Zone and three Zone fares). The stops at Jewellery Quarter, Black Lake and Priestfield are "Boundary Stations", meaning they sit in both Zones.

Operator
When the Midland Metro system opened in 1999, it was originally operated by Altram, a joint venture of the infrastructure company John Laing, the engineering firm Ansaldo, and the transport group National Express. During 2006, Ansaldo and Laing officially withdrew from the venture after financial difficulties, and day-to-day operation was taken over by the remaining partner, National Express, who ran the system as National Express Midland Metro.

In October 2018, the National Express concession ended and the system was taken over by Transport for West Midlands, the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Operation of Midland Metro was taken over by Midland Metro Ltd, a company wholly owned by WMCA, and the system was rebranded West Midlands Metro. WMCA subsequently set up a consortium of various engineering and consultancy firms, the Midland Metro Alliance, to design and construct future network extensions.

Business trends
The current operator, Midland Metro Ltd, has produced accounts from 1 October 2017. Between 1999 and 2003, Altram had operated Midland Metro unsuccessfully on a for-profit basis. However, operating revenue did not cover costs, and in February 2003, auditors refused to sign off Midland Metro's accounts as a going concern. From 2006, under sole National Express control, losses were largely covered by cross-subsidy from other parts of the National Express group, but the figures were not shown separately in their published accounts.

Passenger revenue and passenger numbers are published by the Department of Transport.

The key available trends in recent years for West Midlands Metro are (years ending 31 March):

Passenger numbers
Detailed passenger journeys since the system commenced operations on 30 May 1999 were:

Usage on the initial line averaged about five million passenger journeys annually, but numbers remained static for many years. This was not seen as successful, as 14 to 20 million passengers per year had been projected.

Numerous reasons were suggested for the underperformance, including: that the line has lacked visibility, being confined to Snow Hill station at the edge of Birmingham city centre; that there are quicker trains running between Birmingham and Wolverhampton; that the line did not serve New Street station or any of Birmingham's major visitor attractions (except for the Jewellery Quarter, already well-served by suburban trains). Nonetheless, overcrowding sometimes occurred on trams at peak hours.

Passenger numbers increased sharply following the opening of the extension into Birmingham city centre in June 2016, with figures for 2016/17 exceeding six million for the first time.

Branding and livery
The original Midland Metro branding consisted of a blue, green and red livery on tram vehicles with yellow doors. Upon the change to National Express operation in 2006, Midland Metro was rebranded with Network West Midlands livery, then a sub-brand of the transport authority Centro, and trams were painted in a magenta and silver livery with blue doors.

Since 2017, West Midlands Metro has adopted shared branding with other transport modes consisting of a common hexagonal logo formed from the letters WM. This common brand has been introduced in order to create a common identity for an integrated transport system for the region. Each mode bears a coloured variant of the logo: blue for trams, red for buses, orange for trains, magenta for roads, purple for taxis and green for cycling and walking initiatives. The primary typeface is LL Circular by Lineto.

Expansion plans
The Midland Metro Alliance was set up in 2017 by WMCA as a long-term framework agreement with transport contractors Colas Rail, Barhale, Thomas Vale, Auctus Management Group, Egis Rail, Tony Gee and Pell Frischman to design and construct future extensions of the West Midlands Metro system.

Continuing on from the original route (Line 1), two extensions in three phases have since been opened in Birmingham:

 * The Birmingham City Centre extension was completed in 2015 and opened in 2016, roughly coinciding with the opening of a renovated Birmingham New Street station. This moved the Birmingham terminus (and primary interchange) from Snow Hill to New Street, located on Stephenson Street and called Grand Central.
 * The Birmingham Westside extension was constructed in two phases. Phase 1, which extended the line from New Street to Birmingham Library, opened in 2019. Phase 2, which extended the line from the Library to Edgbaston Village near Five Ways, opened in 2022.

The Birmingham Eastside extension is currently under construction. This new branch line, diverging between Bull Street and Corporation Street tram stops, is expected to open with a temporary terminus at Moor Street Queensway in 2024 or 2025 until track can be laid on the site HS2's Curzon Street terminus. Work on the extension has been completed on the other side of the site, continuing on to Digbeth.

The Wolverhampton city centre extension was completed in September 2023. The same opening date was given for a new line from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill through Dudley Town Centre; this is scheduled to open in 2024.

Birmingham City Centre extension
Until 2015, the southern end of the Metro line terminated at Snow Hill station, on the periphery of Birmingham city centre. From its inception, Midland Metro had failed to attain projected passenger numbers and to operate at a profit, and this was attributed to the fact that the line could not carry passengers all the way into the urban centre. The Birmingham City Centre Extension (BCCE) was conceived to solve this problem by extending the route into the streets of central Birmingham.

This extension serves to facilitate the expansion of the metro network through Birmingham's Eastside and Westside. Originally it was planned to terminate the extension at Stephenson Street, adjacent to New Street railway station, but the plans were revised to continue the extension to Birmingham Library, and eventually as far as Five Ways. A Transport and Works Order authorising the BCCE was made in July 2005, and Government approval was given in February 2012. A new fleet of trams and a new depot at Wednesbury were also authorised, with a budget of £128million, of which £75million was to be funded by the Department for Transport (DfT). Extension works began in June 2012. The first phase of the extension, to Bull Street, was completed in December 2015; it was the first time in 62 years that trams were serving passengers on the streets of central Birmingham.

The extension from St Chads to Grand Central was completed in 2016. This extension used a new route to the east of Snow Hill station which diverged from the original line along a new viaduct and descended to street level. The former tram terminus inside Snow Hill station was closed, releasing a fourth platform at Snow Hill to be reinstated for mainline railway use although, little work has been carried out at the former terminus. Interchange between National Rail services and trams is now provided at Bull Street, approximately 320 m from Snow Hill station. From Snow Hill a new tramway was built along Colmore Circus, Upper Bull Street, Corporation Street, and Stephenson Place, terminating at Grand Central. This opened on 30 May 2016. A temporary reversing spur was built in Stephenson Street to allow trams to turn back for the return journey to Wolverhampton. On 19 November 2015, The Queen visited Birmingham and named one of the new trams. Despite only being in use for five years, this track and the concrete trackbed was removed and replaced in May 2021.

Birmingham Westside extension
The extension from Grand Central to Library began on 5 September 2017. and was opened to passenger service in December 2019. Trams now run from Stephenson Street along Pinfold Street, through Victoria Square with a new stop at Town Hall, along Paradise Street and Broad Street, and terminated at Library in Centenary Square until 16 July 2022.

The Birmingham Westside extension will continue the line from Birmingham Library along Broad Street to Hagley Road in Edgbaston (just west of Five Ways). Additional local enterprise partnership funding was made available in 2014 for the extension from Five Ways to Edgbaston. The extension opened in July 2022 with new tram stops at Brindleyplace, Five Ways, and Edgbaston.

Birmingham Eastside extension
In November 2013, Centro announced a proposal for a tram or bus rapid transit route from Birmingham city centre to Coventry, with a loop connecting the Birmingham Airport with Birmingham city centre via Small Heath and Lea Hall, and a line to Coventry, however Coventry may be connected to the Metro by a line of the Coventry Very Light Rail, which is planned to terminate at Birmingham Interchange HS2. The line would also serve the planned High Speed 2 interchange at Birmingham Curzon Street. In February 2014, it was announced that funding had been secured for the first phase of the Line 2 Eastside extension as far as Curzon Street, before a terminus at Adderley Street.

The new route will branch off from the existing route at a junction at meeting point of Bull St and Corporation St. In 2014, Centro considered two proposed routes, one running via Bull Street and Carrs Lane and serving Moor Street station, and a more direct route via Bull Street and Albert Street, bypassing Moor Street.

A Transport and Works Act application was submitted by the Metro Alliance for the first phase of the Eastside extension, following the route via Albert Street and Curzon Street and terminating at Digbeth.

Construction of the first part of the Eastside extension, including a new tramway junction at Lower Bull St and Corporation St, began in June 2021. The first phase of the works involved utility upgrades and diversions in the area. The closure of Lower Bull Street was expected to be in place until Spring 2022, but the street reopened in July 2023. As of 2024, construction is underway from Bull Street to Digbeth, via the HS2 Curzon Street station. Plans are also in place for the extension to be partially opened in 2025 or 2026 up to Moor Street Queensway.

East Birmingham to Solihull extension
The East Birmingham to Solihull extension (EBSE) was originally investigated in 2004 as a 14 km route to Birmingham Airport and National Exhibition Centre, serving suburbs along the A45. Journey time from central Birmingham (Bull Street) to the airport was estimated at 29minutes. This proposal has now been incorporated into the proposals for an expansion beyond the Digbeth terminus of the Eastside extension.

As of March 2024, the route is planned to continue eastwards by approximately 17 km to serve north Solihull via the B4128 to terminate at the HS2 Birmingham Interchange station, allowing passenger access by West Midlands Metro to the airport, National Exhibition Centre, Resorts World, and Resorts World Arena when open for passenger service. The proposed route would also pass directly by St Andrew's Stadium, home of Birmingham City FC, intended as an alternative to Bordesley station.

Wolverhampton City Centre extension
The northern part of the extension scheme was the addition of a tram line into Wolverhampton city centre. The laying of the new track was completed in December 2019 and it was anticipated that passenger services would commence in 2021 once the renovation of Wolverhampton railway station has been completed. However, the project has been delayed.

It was originally proposed in 2009 as a single-track loop running clockwise from the existing St George's terminus via Princess Street, Lichfield Street and Pipers Row (for Wolverhampton bus station), with a spur to Wolverhampton station. An earlier plan would have served more of the city centre with the loop running along Lichfield Street, Queen Square, Victoria Street, Cleveland Street and Garrick Street to the Wolverhampton St George's tram stop. The 2009 scheme had an estimated cost of £30million. In 2010 Centro considered revised proposals that involved an extended route along part of the Wolverhampton Ring Road, serving the University of Wolverhampton campus. The original loop scheme was selected and in 2012 Centro decided to proceed by constructing it in phases. A Transport and Works Act Order was approved in 2016, and in March 2014, a £2billion connectivity funding package was announced to support a number of transport projects, including phase 1 of the Wolverhampton extension.

The first phase will see the construction of the eastern section of the Wolverhampton loop, consisting of a line branching off before the existing St George's terminus and running north up Pipers Row to terminate at the station. Northbound trams will terminate alternately at the station and at St George's. The estimated completion date was 2015, although a succession of delays means that this section actually opened on 17 September 2023. The remaining part of the Wolverhampton loop will be completed at a later date, subject to funding.

Wednesbury–Brierley Hill extension
Wednesbury–Brierley Hill extension (WBHE) is an 11 km line which will run south-west from the existing route, branching off east of Wednesbury Great Western Street. The route would be constructed on the track bed of the disused South Staffordshire Line, running through Tipton and close to the former Dudley Town station. The line would then run on-street into Dudley town centre, before following the A461 Southern Bypass to rejoin the railway corridor. After running along part of the former Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Line, the tram line would diverge south to serve the Waterfront Business Park and Merry Hill Shopping Centre, terminating at Brierley Hill. In 2012, the estimated cost of the WBHE was £268million, and a frequency of ten trams per hour was envisaged, alternately serving Wolverhampton and Birmingham. A further extension to Stourbridge has also been proposed, with a junction at Canal Street, allowing trams to access the remainder of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Line to Stourbridge Junction and possibly Stourbridge Town.

Network Rail have announced plans to reopen the South Staffordshire Line for the use of freight trains. Metro planners considered operating light rail trams on segregated tracks, but in 2011 put forward proposals to introduce tram-train operation on the route to allow Metro vehicles to share tracks with heavy rail freight trains.

Due to funding constraints, it was decided to construct this extension in phases, with the first section from Wednesbury to Dudley opening first.

In early 2017, work began to clear vegetation and disused track from the former railway line. In early 2021, work started on construction of the line. It was estimated that the entire line to Brierley Hill would be completed by 2023. The estimated cost of the extension is now £449million. In July 2022, it was announced that due to spiralling costs, the line to Brierley Hill will be built in two phases. Phase 1 will see a line open to Dudley, construction of which is well underway. Subject to further funding, Phase 2 will extend the line to Brierley Hill.

Other new lines
In September 2021, £2.1billion in funding was applied for, of which £1billion was received, for new Metro and upgraded bus routes around the West Midlands, consisting of many new lines and extensions, these are:
 * Extension from Edgbaston to Quinton
 * This may be cut or extended depending on how much funding is given
 * Extension from Brierley Hill to Stourbridge Junction
 * New Line from Walsall to Wednesbury (offering two routes to Birmingham)
 * New Line to New Cross Hospital
 * This would likely be an extension of the line to Wolverhampton Railway Station currently under construction.
 * Possible New Line branching off the Airport Line to Solihull Town Centre
 * First part under construction as part of the Birmingham Eastside Metro Extension, from Bull Street to Digbeth.

Historic planned extensions
In 2004, the proposed Phase Two expansion included five routes:

 * Birmingham City Centre to Great Barr
 * A 10 km, 17-stop route from the city centre through Lancaster Circus and along the A34 corridor to the Birmingham/Walsall boundary, terminating near the M6 motorway junction 7. Transport for the West Midlands have since decided that a "West Midlands Sprint" concept, based on bus rapid transit is the way forward for this route.

 * Birmingham City Centre to Quinton
 * A 7.5 km route from the BCCE terminus at Five Ways along the Hagley Road to Quinton.

 * Wolverhampton City Centre to Wednesfield, Willenhall, Walsall and Wednesbury
 * This 20.4 km "5Ws" route would connect Wolverhampton city centre to Wednesfield, Willenhall, Walsall and Wednesbury, and provide direct access to New Cross and Manor Hospitals, partially using the trackbed of the former Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway. This link was officially declared dead in the Express & Star on 23 October 2015. In place of this line, restoration of passenger services along the railway line between Wolverhampton and Walsall including new stations at Willenhall and Darlaston (James Bridge) was proposed.

 * Birmingham Airport links
 * via the A45 (now part of the East Birmingham to Solihull extension scheme).
 * via the A47: In September 2010, the Birmingham Post reported that a "£425million rapid transit system" between Birmingham city centre and the airport "could involve a new light rail scheme". Centro strategy director Alex Burrows stated "the Birmingham City Centre to Birmingham Airport Rapid Transit plan will provide connectivity between the city centre, Birmingham Business Park and Chelmsley Wood".

During the mid-2000s, Birmingham City Council also evaluated the possibility of constructing an underground railway, and the scheme was advocated by the leader of the council, Mike Whitby, and deputy leader of the council, Paul Tilsley. A feasibility report by Jacobs Engineering and Deloitte concluded that the tunnelling scheme would be unaffordable and not meet government funding criteria.

Accidents and incidents

 * On 8 June 2006, T-69 tram, fleet number 06, collided with a taxi on New Swan Lane Level Crossing. The taxi was pushed across the junction and collided with a stationary lorry. The two occupants of the taxi were taken to hospital and released after two hours; neither the tram passengers nor the lorry driver suffered any injuries. The RAIB enquiry found that the tram driver failed to stop at the signal; the report noted that this was then the only level crossing on the network, and that there had been seven previous collisions there since the metro came into operation in 1999, but all of these had been a result of failures by road traffic users.
 * On 19 December 2006, trams 09 and 10 collided in Winson Green, injuring a group of people while en route to the Metro's then Birmingham Snow Hill terminus.
 * On 19 August 2019, tram 31 was derailed after colliding with a vehicle in Wolverhampton.
 * On 13 November 2021, services were suspended due to cracks being found in the bodywork of some trams.
 * On 20 March 2022, services were suspended until further notice due to cracks in the bodywork of some older trams.

title: West Midlands Metro