Budig and Steinbrenner found common ground

Gene Budig served as American League president from 1994 until 2000, at which point Bud Selig did away with the notion of league presidents. If you followed the illustrious career of George Steinbrenner, you know that Budig's role - as disciplinarian of the Yankees and their AL competition - made him one of The Boss' primary nemeses.

Most entertainingly, Steinbrenner would attempt to provoke Budig by purposely mispronouncing his name as "Bud-ig" rather than the correct "Byoo-dig."

But this past week, when the Yankees introduced the Pinstripe Bowl, to be held Dec. 30 at Yankee Stadium, Budig attended the news conference. The Yankees credited him as a key liaison to putting the game together, as he has strong connections with the two participating conferences. He served as president of West Virginia University, now in the Big East, and the University of Kansas, part of the Big 12.

Budig, who lives in South Carolina and serves as a part-owner of the Yankees' Class A affiliate in Charleston, said that after he completed his run as AL president, he and Steinbrenner remained in touch for many years.

"I would say that we spoke at least twice a month," Budig said. "Either I called him or he would call me. We would just talk.

"People don't realize how much he enjoyed college football. He would always ask about Kansas basketball and how good they'd be. 'What are their chances?' He'd ask me about West Virginia. He really admired (longtime football coach) Don Nehlen. He liked (Kansas basketball coaches) Larry Brown and Roy Williams. We had great conversations."

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner laughed when reminded of his dad's clashes with Budig. "What happens behind the scenes is what you don't see, which is favors for each other, mutual respect for each other," he said. "That's what it's like with Gene."