The New York Yankees on Thursday paid tribute to Henry Kissinger after the former U.S. secretary of state died Wednesday at the age of 100.
"The Yankees are profoundly saddened by the passing of former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who performed varied and vital diplomatic and advisory roles throughout his distinguished career," the team said in a statement.
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"A lifelong friend of the Yankees organization, he was a frequent welcome guest of the Steinbrenner family at Yankee Stadium. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be deeply missed."
Kissinger was quoted as saying in Yankees Magazine in 2012 that he started to attend games at the old Yankee Stadium when he moved from Germany to the U.S. in 1938.
At the time, he said that Joe DiMaggio’s play made him love the sport.
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"When a ball was hit to him, he sometimes looked as if he were loping, but suddenly he would get to the ball," Kissinger said. "I identified the Yankees with Joe DiMaggio, but in those days — at which time I was working in a factory — it never occurred to me that some day I would meet him. That was beyond the American dream."
The German-born American diplomat, academic and presidential adviser who served as secretary of state for two presidents and left his stamp on U.S. foreign policy for decades pioneered the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, began a rapprochement with China and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for negotiating the Paris Peace Accords to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
He also played a leading role in the normalization of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and China under Presidents Nixon and Ford.
Kissinger, along with his family, escaped Nazi Germany when he was 15. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, who he married in 1974, and two children, David and Elizabeth, from his first marriage.
Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
