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The New York Yankees paid tribute to Henry Kissinger on Thursday after the former US secretary of state died at the age of 100 on Wednesday.
“The Yankees are deeply saddened by the passing of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who served in diverse and important diplomatic and advisory roles throughout his distinguished career,” the team said in a statement.
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Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger attends the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 28, 2007. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
“A lifelong friend of the Yankees organization, he was a frequent welcome guest of the Steinbrenner family at Yankee Stadium. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. We will miss him.”
Kissinger was quoted in Yankees Magazine in 2012 as saying that he began attending games at the old Yankee Stadium when he moved to the United States from Germany in 1938.
At the time, he said Joe DiMaggio’s playing made him love the sport.
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KT McFarland, a former deputy national security adviser, said Henry Kissinger laid the foundation for a generation of peace in the Middle East. (Daniel Vogl/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
“When a ball was hit to him, sometimes it looked like he was going to jump, but all of a sudden he got to the ball,” Kissinger said. “I identified the Yankees with Joe DiMaggio, but back then – when I was working in a factory – it never occurred to me that I would one day meet him. This went beyond the American dream.”
The German-born American diplomat, academic and presidential adviser who served as secretary of state for two presidents and shaped U.S. foreign policy for decades, pioneered détente with the Soviet Union, began a rapprochement with China and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for that Negotiation of the Paris Peace Agreement ending US involvement in Vietnam.
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He also played a leading role in the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and China under Presidents Nixon and Ford.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger speaks during a meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office on October 10, 2017. (Evan Vucci)
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Kissinger fled Nazi Germany with his family at the age of 15. He is survived by his wife Nancy, whom he married in 1974, and two children, David and Elizabeth, from his first marriage.
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Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.