Former owner Stoneham, often overlooked, a Western pioneer Apr 16, 2008
In 1947, he and Cleveland's Bill Veeck were the first to move their teams' spring training operations to Arizona. And when the Giants' attendance dipped to sixth in the NL in 1955 coming off a world championship season, and eighth the following year, he began exploring a move to Minneapolis. (USA Today -- Sports)
Baseball's Injustice to Paige Apr 14, 2008
Bill Veeck Signed Paige to a Contract With the Indians ... Indians' owner Bill Veeck was a showman and many thought his signing of Paige was merely a publicity stunt ... The Indians released Paige in the winter of 1950 but in July, 1951, the St. Louis Browns, run by the same Bill Veeck, signed him. (Suite101.com)
REQUIRED READING Apr 13, 2008
In Schilling's novel, set in the 1944 season, baseball maverick Bill Veeck. "> Sunday, April 13, 2008 Last Update: 06:50 AM EDT lect> REQUIRED READING By BILLY HELLER Loading new images... April 13, 2008 -- The End of Baseballby Peter Schilling Jr. (Ivan R. Dee)No, we're not talking about the Mets collapse last year. In Schilling's novel, set in the 1944 season, baseball maverick Bill Veeck buys the Philadelphia Athletics and, determined to field the best team, recruits ballplayers from the... (New York Post -- Opinions)
Springtime Means Baseball Mar 30, 2008
Bill Veeck, who did more for America in one night than most of us do in a lifetime (the night in September 1937 he planted the ivy along Wrigley Field's outfield walls), said that the great thing about baseball -- aside from the fact that you do not need to be 7 feet wide or 7 feet tall in order to play it -- is: Three strikes and you're out, and the best lawyer can't help you. Baseball, which provides satisfying finality and then does it again the next day, is a severe meritocracy that... (Townhall.com)
New take on an old song Mar 30, 2008
But the authors insist that tradition didn't reach full flower before the mid-1970s, when White Sox owner Bill Veeck and announcer Harry Caray turned it into a happening at Comiskey Park in Chicago. When Caray moved in 1981 to the Cubs and their national cable TV audience, a nationwide ritual was born. (News & Observer -- Sports)
Style points are just part of judging Mar 23, 2008
On Aug. 24, 1951, St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck turned the game over to the fans. As recounted in "The Bill James Guide To Baseball Managers," manager Zack Taylor sat in a rocking chair, puffing a pipe and reading the paper. (Boston Globe)
Sports Mailbag for Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008 Mar 16, 2008
Where's Bill Veeck when you need him. BOB BENNETT Lauderdale By The Sea, Fla. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA -- Sports)
Peach Belt: Brunk brings experience Feb 11, 2008
Brunk will tell you about the time he called baseball owner and promotional genius Bill Veeck. Brunk will also show you the mostly unpacked memorabilia around his office. (The Augusta Chronicle)
Diamondbacks Fantasy Camp Diary: Day 1 Jan 15, 2008
Hemond certainly was well known by the campers for his work as general manager for the White Sox and Orioles during a career in baseball that has spanned 50 years, and they enjoyed hearing his stories about legendary owner Bill Veeck. Hall gave some insight as to some of the team's plans for the future. (MLB.com -- Arizona Diamondbacks)
Eastern Shore landmark for sale Nov 23, 2007
He can quickly rattle off notables who dined or stayed at the inn through the years, including newsman Walter Cronkite, who like many sailors was drawn to Oxford's boating culture; actress Elizabeth Taylor; singer Bing Crosby; baseball executive Bill Veeck and actor Robert Mitchum. One patron from the 1970s, said Gibson, was Susan Ford, daughter of former President Gerald R. Ford. (Sunspot.net -- Business)
Other Voices - Remembering Forrest "Forty" Westering Nov 10, 2007
I've often thought about the fact that this happened a year or two before Bill Veeck the owner of the St. Louis Browns major league baseball team used a 3 foot 7 inch midget named Eddie Gaedel to draw a walk against the Detroit Tigers in a game in 1951. I wonder if the famous Bill Veeck got the idea from Forty Westering. (Missouri Valley Times News, IA)
Shapiro Named Top Exec ... Again Nov 7, 2007
Other multiple winners are George Weiss with four; legendary Branch Rickey with three; and Ed Barrow, Bing Devine, Gabe Paul, Dick O'Connell, Bill Veeck, Harry Dalton, Hank Peters, Roland Hemond and Walt Jocketty with two each. Shapiro was presented with the award at the MLB general managers meetings in Orlando on Monday night. (Cleveland, TheInsiders.com)
Hughes combines on Caray book Nov 1, 2007
" The CD includes vintage game play-by-play from Caray's younger days with the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals. There are sound bytes from his conversation with Reagan, Caray's Cooperstown speech for his induction into the Hall of Fame, and the '84 and '89 Cubs. Of course, you can hear Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," a tradition he started at Comiskey Park, thanks to Bill Veeck secretly hiding a microphone in the broadcast booth. Hughes produced, wrote and narrated the CD, and provided... (MLB.com -- Chi Cubs Cubs)
Blattner, others on Ford C. Frick ballot Nov 1, 2007
Among other things, Blattner broadcast the famous at-bat by tiny Eddie Gaedel orchestrated by Browns owner Bill Veeck in 1951. Blattner makes his home in the St. Louis area. (MLB.com -- Kansas City Royals)
Indians a worthy cause to champion Oct 17, 2007
But its great size did come into play in 1948, when, thanks to a very good ball club and the incessant promotion of new owner Bill Veeck, the Indians established a major league attendance record of 2,620,627 and followed that up by bringing in 2,233,771 the next season. As the years went on, the very size of the ballpark worked against them. (Boston Globe)
On Sports: Yogi really did say all the things that he said Oct 17, 2007
Series time is always a good time to remember the great teams and players of the past, and also the great characters the game has produced quintessential left-hander Bill "Spaceman" Lee, brothers Dizzy and Daffy Dean, wily managers Casey Stengel and Leo Durocher, and crazy-like-a-fox owner Bill Veeck, to barely scratch the surface. Perhaps the greatest character of all, of course, is Yogi Berra. (The Union Democrat)
Giants' Frightening Future Oct 7, 2007
Branch Rickey and Bill Veeck, together, couldn't save this team in one winter. Vintage Cubs. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Bobo Holloman's No-Hitter Sep 3, 2007
Bill Veeck realized how lucky Holloman had been and wanted to send him back to Syracuse, but Veeck was a great businessman. I don t think it s really wise to send a man back to the minor leagues right after he s become immortal; It looks as if you re punishing him for throwing a no-hitter. (Suite101.com)
Budig keeping a minor hand in baseball Aug 29, 2007
The teams other main owners are Marv Goldklang, who is part owner of other sports teams including the Yankees, and Mike Veeck, son of Bill Veeck Jr., a Hall of Fame owner of major-league baseball teams in Cleveland, St. Louis and Chicago. The RiverDogs play in a stadium that opened in 1997, a facility the team shares with The Citadel. (Charleston Gazette, WV -- Sports)
Comiskey passes, leaves enduring legacy Aug 28, 2007
The two worked together on trades and personnel moves, before Bill Veeck assumed ownership for the 1959 season. Both Comiskey and Rigney had a great deal to do with assembling the 1959 American League pennant winners, despite Hank Greenberg serving as the general manager during this memorable season. (MLB.com -- Chi White Sox White Sox)
Baseball Today Aug 24, 2007
1951 _ St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck gave over 1,000 fans behind his dugout YES and NO placards to allow them to have a part in the strategy of the game. The fans flashed the cards when asked by the coaches what the Browns should do and it worked as St. Louis beat the Philadelphia Athletics 5-3. (Rhinelander Daily News, WI)
Derivative dodges Aug 24, 2007
I try not to break the rules, but merely to test their elasticity, said Bill Veeck, a wheeler-dealing owner of US baseball teams. The merger and acquisition departments of most investment banks subscribe to the same philosophy, and these days their favourite rule-stretching devices are derivatives. (FT.com -- Markets)
John Helyar: When owners cheat owners Aug 11, 2007
Here's Bill Veeck, right, as president of the Indians, along with Washington Senators president Clark Griffiths and Philadelphia Athletics president Connie Mack in 1947 ... Even Bill Veeck, who chronicled his own colorful mischief in his memoirs, was loath to call that sort of maneuver "cheating.". (ESPN -- Baseball)
Sox fans remain avid in tough year Jul 31, 2007
"It was the worst behavior I've ever seen in the ballpark," added Reinsdorf of the crowd demeanor when he took over ownership from Bill Veeck, who once referred to old Comiskey Park as the world's largest outdoor saloon. "We adopted a code of conduct for the fans and started putting the drunks out. That's when we started to get more families coming. "Bill was very proud of the unruly crowd. (MLB.com -- Chi White Sox White Sox)
Daytona Cubs fans share rare badge of honor Jul 27, 2007
"But the tattoos weren't for the average, or even everyday rabid fan. No, Rogers said making this kind of commitment was strictly for the "stark-raving, lunatic-level" Daytona Cubs fan."When you're at that point, there's no going back," joked Rogers, who sports no tattoos of his own and is now general manager for the rival Brevard County Manatees.Ed Drosten, 55, of New Smyrna Beach considers Rogers a promotional genius much like P.T. Barnum and Bill Veeck, who brought humor and innovation to... (Daytona Beach News Journal)
Cuban is just what Cubs, baseball need Jul 22, 2007
Mark Mcguire, Albany (N.Y.) Times Union The corporatized, homogenized and steroidized world of baseball could use another Bill Veeck ... Mavericks owner Mark Cuban could bring the same type of energy to baseball that Bill Veeck did in his time as an owner. (News & Observer -- Sports)
Cubs, baseball could use Cuban Jul 19, 2007
The corporatized, homogenized and steroidized world of baseball could use another Bill Veeck. Veeck's been gone now for 21 years. (Albany Times Union)
Hit a Vacation Home Run at These Great Stadiums Jul 10, 2007
Baseball icon Bill Veeck bought and planted the vines in September 1937, when his dad owned the team. Wrigley also has a classy old-style scoreboard, with out-of-town scores updated by hand, just like at Fenway. (Newsmax)
At Bowie, zany promotions take fans' breath away Jul 9, 2007
With his rubbery face and elastic body, Max Patkin crafted a half-century barnstorming career as the "Clown Prince of Baseball." Bill Veeck, the legendary major league owner and showman, hired Patkin to coach, let fans help manage a game and sent Eddie Gaedel, a midget, to bat. These days, minor league owners such as Mike Veeck, son of Bill Veeck, delight in stretching the boundaries with Tonya Harding Mini-Bat Night and Enron Night, complete with paper shredders at the gates. (Sunspot.net -- Sports)
Taking tour of minors results in major fun Jul 8, 2007
"If you're a little girl, you can go out on the field with the mascot. If you're a little boy, you might get to be bat boy for a game. And if you're mom and dad, you only had to pay $40 for the whole experience," says Veeck, son of legendary major league owner Bill Veeck. "I don't think that family says, 'Eww, this looks like Salisbury.'". (Sunspot.net -- Sports)
Sixty years later, Doby's impact strong Jul 6, 2007
Indians president Bill Veeck and Larry Doby smile after Doby signs his contract July 5, 1947 ... " At the time, Doby had no way of knowing the next big-league opportunity for a black player would be his. Coming to the Majors In 1946, Bill Veeck bought the Indians. Veeck was a man whose life in the baseball is best remembered for his flair for theatrics. He hired the rubber-faced Max Patkin, known as the "Clown Prince of Baseball," as a coach for the Tribe; he used midget Eddie Gaedel as a batter... (MLB.com -- Cleveland Indians)
Doby's debut historic, overwhelming Jul 6, 2007
A barrage of cameras flashed as Doby, flanked by team president Bill Veeck in a small Comiskey Park office, scrawled his name across a contract worth a "considerable amount of cash.". Tribe manager Lou Boudreau then took Doby from locker to locker, introducing him to his new teammates. (MLB.com -- Cleveland Indians)
Larry Doby: Proud to bat 2nd Jul 5, 2007
" Unlike Robinson, who was 28, a former U.S. Army officer and had competed against White ballplayers in the minors one season before being called up, Doby was a quiet, nervous 23-year-old straight from the Negro Leagues. He was hitting .458 when Indians owner Bill Veeck purchased Doby's contract from the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League for $10,000. Two days later, Doby met Veeck for the first time. " 'Lawrence' - he's the only person who called me Lawrence - 'you are going to be part... (AZCentral -- News)
Doby Excelled Despite Playing In Robinson's Shadow Jul 3, 2007
" Star In His Own Right Robinson retired after the 1956 season. In 1962, his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Doby's last season was 1959. He was enshrined 39 years later. Like Robinson, Doby was a four-sport high school star - baseball, basketball, football and track. He attended college while playing for the Negro National League's Newark Eagles under the alias Larry Walker to protect his amateur standing. After two years in the Navy, he returned to the Eagles... (Tampa Bay Online, FL -- Sports)
Notes: Dellucci injures hamstring Jun 23, 2007
On this date: In 1946, Bill Veeck became owner of the Cleveland Indians. Veeck was a pioneer in several aspects of the game, but not all of them continue to this day. (MLB.com -- Cleveland Indians)
No backing out of Billy Donovan Night Jun 21, 2007
The Miracle have long subscribed to the theory of Bill Veeck, who was the head of a group that owned the Chicago White Sox from 1959 to 1981 and became well-known for such publicity stunts like the Disco Demolition Night the team held in 1979 continually breaking team attendance records in the process. In 2003, the Miracle hosted Sammy Sosa Corked Bat Night, drawing national attention by handing out free cork to the first 505 fans who arrived for a game a nod to the number of... (MSNBC -- Sports)
Best Baseball Season Ever? Jun 19, 2007
An as yet unrealized asset was Bill Veeck, who had acquired the club the previous year and was determined to bring a championship to Cleveland. Satisfied that the Jackie Robinson racial barrier- breaking experiment was working in Brooklyn, Veeck quickly signed Negro League star outfielder Larry Doby as the American League's first black player. (Suite101.com)
Cavaliers try to break Cleveland's curse Jun 13, 2007
"This will be the biggest thing that happened here since Bill Veeck and the 1948 World Series winners, if they can win this thing," said Hall of Famer Bob Feller, a member of that last Indians championship team. Some blame the curse on Rocky Colavito, the Indians popular right fielder traded to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn in 1960. (News & Observer -- Sports)
Selig holds court at Fenway Park May 18, 2007
I first heard Bill Veeck and Hank Greenberg talk about it when I was a kid. This was in the late '40s. (MLB.com -- Boston Red Sox)
Erstad honorary coach for Special Olympians May 16, 2007
That list includes George Halas (1977), Bill Veeck (1979), Ray Meyer (1980), Mike Ditka (1985), Jay Berwanger (1988) and Keith Magnuson (1982), whose son, Kevin, served as the master of ceremonies Tuesday. Other individuals associated with the White Sox holding this position, along with Erstad and Veeck, were Tony La Russa (1984), Mike Huff, Tim Raines and Robin Ventura (1992), and Ventura yet again in 1996. (MLB.com -- Chi White Sox White Sox)
WP: Nelson resurrects himself, and Warriors May 10, 2007
That was the NBA equivalent of Bill Veeck paying the midget Eddie Gaedel to bat in a major league game. Nelson's craggy-faced, haggard appearance -- the Iowa folksiness and his Bud Light-fueled follies -- make him as familiar as your grandmother's ottoman. (MSNBC -- Sports)
Wranglers daughter chronicles cowboys life May 7, 2007
She and new husband Sam took their wrangling skills into New Mexico ranching, business partners with legendary baseball owner and promoter Bill Veeck whom they had met when he brought the Cleveland Indians to Tucson for spring training. After Sam's death, she married Bill Aycock, a retired GM engineer and one of the dudes she worked with who thought he could be a cowboy, she remembered, but had to settle for marrying one. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
Browns-White Stockings Rivalry Continues Apr 27, 2007
The rich history of these clubs are well-documented from Cardinals general manager Branch Rickeys development of the farm system concept to Wrigley Fields ivy, planted by Bill Veeck, and Chicagos long-standing love affair with the bleachers and baseball under the sun, not lights. Like in other rivalries, families, co-workers, neighbors and people from all walks of life don their colors and get behind their favorite team, whether red or blue. (St. Louis, TheInsiders.com)
Looking Back: The 1977 White Sox Apr 19, 2007
The 1976 season marked the return of owner Bill Veeck to the Sox ... Owner Bill Veeck selected Harold Baines as the overall No. 1 amateur draft choice on June 7, after first scouting him years earlier on the Little League fields of Maryland. (MLB.com -- Chi White Sox White Sox)
Coaches, players, referees...everyone's a target in NRL'sblame game Apr 13, 2007
Legendary American baseball owner Bill Veeck expressed a similar view when he said: "In 20 years of walking around ball parks, I've come to the conclusion knowledge of the game is in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." In other words, the mob knows best. You'd expect the sponsors and suits in the luxury suites to blame the club administration. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Sport)
Doby No. 2 behind the famous No. 42 Apr 13, 2007
Whereas Robinson was brought up in the Dodgers' farm system, Indians owner Bill Veeck grabbed Doby straight from the Negro Leagues' Newark Eagles. At 23, five years younger than Robinson was at the time of his debut, Doby came to Cleveland without a dash of Minor League experience and into a less-than-welcoming clubhouse. (MLB.com -- Cleveland Indians)
Peanuts, crackjacks and a good book Mar 14, 2007
Uniforms went from loose woolens to eye-jarringly bright colors to subdued greys, and legendary owner Bill Veeck even once experimented with short pants for his Cubbies. Rules for pitchers, batters, shortstops and in- and outfielders have changed. (Ontario Argus Observer, OR)
Athletics History: KC A's-Yankees Pipeline Feb 26, 2007
In John E. Peterson's book The Kansas City Athletics, A Baseball History 1954-1967 has a quote from the colorful Bill Veeck saying, "Until Arnold Johnson died, Kansas City was not an Independent Major League baseball team at all. It was nothing more than a loosely controlled Yankee farm club.". That statement, ladies and gentlemen, from the long term owner was the true reality of Kansas City Athletics baseball from the mid 1950s through the early 1960s. (Oakland, TheInsiders.com)
Cubs call Baltimore to green their ivy Feb 20, 2007
Bill Veeck started the vines growing on that classic structure 70 years ago and it has hardly changed since. Blunk said most fans he has spoken with understand the reason for the ads. (Sunspot.net -- Sports)
An ad among the ivy Feb 17, 2007
The deal will allow sports apparel and footwear manufacturer Under Armour to place its logo on two access doors in the walls that are covered with ivy first planted in 1937 by Bill Veeck. The signage, along with a logo behind home plate and other advertising elements, will be in place for the Cubs' home opener with Houston on April 9. (Los Angeles Times)
Cardinals Family Feud A Dirty Dozen Jan 20, 2007
Fred Saigh vs. Bill Veeck. When Veeck bought the Browns in 1951, he did so with the intent of running the Cardinals out of town. (St. Louis, TheInsiders.com)
