Memories of George Steinbrenner, beloved sitcom character

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A baseball legend has passed away, and some are honoring his memory by watching clips of a sitcom that he never actually appeared on.

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who died at 80 on Tuesday, was a key character on “Seinfeld.” Only seen by the back of the head, the fake Steinbrenner was voiced by show cocreator Larry David.

And he was hilarious. Here’s a sample:

Soon after Steinbrenner’s death was announced, the phrase “steinbrenner seinfeld” was trending high on Google Trends (I saw it as high as No. 2). As Michael David Smith on FanHouse.com points out, the Steinbrenner character appeared on the show 16 times, more frequently than several other popular characters such as Uncle Leo and Puddy.

Smith also indicates that Steinbrenner himself actually filmed some scenes for an episode of “Seinfeld,” but they never aired (you can see them here). But the fake Steinbrenner was definitely funnier, so here’s one more clip of the character who is hopefully putting a smile on the faces of sad Yankees fans:

-- Chuck Schilken