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Edmund Michael Burke (August 6, 1916?February 5, 1987) was a U.S. Navy Officer, O.S.S. agent, C.I.A. agent, general manager of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, CBS executive, President of the New York Yankees, the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden.
Early life
Burke was born in Enfield, Connecticut, and attended Kingswood-Oxford School in Hartford, Connecticut. He was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania playing halfback on the football team. He graduated in 1939 and was given a tryout by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1941.

World War II
After working as a cargo inspector in the New York waterfront, Burke was commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy. A chance meeting with head of the O.S.S General William J. Donovan led to transfer to his command. Donovan told him "Anybody who can run back punts the way you can ought to be able to wiggle behind enemy lines?.

Ensign Burke was sent to Algiers in 1942, then Sicily in 1943, and later landing in Salerno in the same year.

Burke was one of the members of the "MacGregor Mission" led by Lt. John M. Shaheen consiting of Burke, John Ringling North[4] and Marcello Girosi, a former New York businessman who had a brother Massimo who was an Italian admiral. The "MacGregor Mission" was responsible for discovering information on Axis weapons.

One of the missions was to smuggle Italian Vice Admiral Eugenio Minisini out of Italy in 1943. Admiral Minisini was in the Engineering section of the Italian Navy and was directing the use of a magnetic firing device for torpedoes.[6] As the American Navy was having problems with their detonators setting off torpedoes this a crucial piece of technology. The four men landed by PT Boat in Capri and brought back Admiral Minisini.

Burke and North were both awarded the Silver Star for their work.

Following the Italian campaign, Burke was parachuted into the Vosges region of France to arm and organise the French Resistance. During World War II, Michael Burke was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Cross, and the French M?daille de la R?sistance.