Steinbrenner was born on July 4, 1930 in Rocky River, Ohio a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. He studied at Williams College and at Ohio State University. He was married to Elizabeth Joan Zieg from 1956 until his death 2010. He had four children. Steinbrenner died on July 13, 2010 in Tampa, Florida from a heart attack, aged 80. He died 9 days after his 80th birthday.