Frank Thomas

Notable Sports Figures
Dave Winfield
the Utah Stars basketball teams, and the pro football
team Minnesota Vikings, even though he had never
played football in college. He chose the Padres and received
a $50,000 signing bonus plus $18,000 a year in
salary. At San Diego, he gave up pitching and became an
outfielder. His batting was both brilliant and lagging
during his rookie years. With consistent coaching, however,
by 1978 he batted .308 and was named team captain.
He also played his second All-Star game, and in
1979 he won his first Gold Glove award.
Winfield Foundation
In 1977, Winfield established a charitable foundation
designed to mentor and guide inner-city youths, much as
Peterson had done for him and his brother. The David
M. Winfield Foundation has since expanded to include
health and nutrition, literacy, sports and fitness programs,
community holiday celebrations, and a drug
abuse prevention program. Although many sports figures
have since become involved in charity work, Winfield
was the first to do so when he founded his
organization during the 1970s.
Difficult Decade with the Yankees
In 1978, Winfield met the aggressive Albert S.
Frohman, a retired businessman who would become his
agent. Frohman encouraged Winfield to leave the Padres
and move up to the New York Yankees. He managed to
Chronology
Winfield
1951 Born October 3 in St. Paul, Minnesota
1971 While a student at University of Minnesota, arrested in
snowblower theft
1973 Drafted by San Diego Padres (baseball), Atlanta Hawks and
Utah Stars (basketball), and Minnesota Vikings (football);
chooses Padres and moves to California with $50,000 signing
bonus
1977 Founds David M. Winfield Foundation
1978 Named Padres captain; meets businessman Albert S.
Frohman, who becomes his agent
1980 As free agent, signs ten-year contract with New York Yankees
on December 15
1984 Narrowly loses race with Yankee hitter Don Mattingly for
American League batting champion; woman claiming to be
Winfield’s common law wife sues for support of her daughter;
David M. Winfield Foundation is audited for suspected
financial misconduct
1985 Woman sues Winfield on charges that he gave her venereal
disease
1988 Marries Tonya Turner on February 18—they will have twins;
publishes controversial autobiography, Winfield: A Player’s
Life
1989 Undergoes back surgery and misses a season of baseball
1990 Traded to the California Angels
1992 As free agent, signs with Toronto Blue Jays; Blue Jays win
World Series after Winfield’s double in 11th inning of sixth
game drives in winning runs
1993 Signs with Minnesota Twins
1995 Plays 46 games with Cleveland Indians
1996 Retires from baseball; joins FOX-TV as baseball analyst
2001 Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame
2002 Named vice president/senior advisor of the San Diego Padres
get Winfield a ten-year contract with the Yankees, a $1
million signing bonus and regular contributions to the
Winfield Foundation. The deal also included a cost-ofliving
pay increase, which Yankee owner George Steinbrenner
later said he had not fully understood at the time
of the contract. The deal was signed on December 15,
1980. Things seemed to go wrong from the time Winfield
signed it.
Unhappy with the costly contract, Steinbrenner
began to insult Winfield in the media. When he failed to
perform well in the 1981 World Series, Steinbrenner
called him “Mr. May,” in contrast to former Yankee Reggie
Jackson, whose World Series game hits were so outstanding
he had earned the nickname “Mr. October.”
Steinbrenner also stopped making his agreed-on contributions
to the Winfield Foundation, but Winfield sued
his boss to get the money owed the organization.
In addition to these actions, Steinbrenner tried several
times to trade Winfield, but his contract gave him the
ability to veto the trades. Managers and coaches were
fearful of praising Winfield’s performance in the media,
believing it would anger Steinbrenner. The fans, however,
were pleased with the fact that Winfield got at least
100 runs batted in every year for five years. He was the
first to do so since Joe DiMaggio. Winfield’s struggle
later came out in his autobiography, Winfield: A Player’s
Life, which is said to have infuriated Steinbrenner.
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