George Steinbrenner Was UM President Donna Shalala's Little League Coach

via Facebook

A Little Shalala

​The passing of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner may have been met with a bit of apathy in these parts, but one local goes way, way back with "The Boss." Turns out that University of Miami president Donna Shalala first met Steibrenner back when she was nine years old, and he helped coach her little league team.

"I met George when I was nine years old on a baseball field in a Cleveland public park. I prefer to remember him as a young man who encouraged girls and boys to play sports with enthusiasm, skill and courage. He taught me to throw overhand and to slide. And over the years he was consistently kind to me whenever I ran into him -- for which I will always be grateful," said Shalala, the former secretary of Health and Human Services under Bill Clinton, in a statement released by the school.

This photo was also posted on Facebook with the caption, "This 1958 photo features a young Donna Shalala and her twin sister Diane. A college-age George Steinbrenner helped coach the little league team."

via University of Miami's Facebook

​Oh, we forgot Shalala is originally from Cleveland. No word on whether Shalala is also mourning the loss of her position as most powerful former Cleveland resident in Miami.