Tag: Bill Veeck

Aug 19: Eddie Gaedel goes to bat

AUGUST 19, 1951 | ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI • A dwarf went to bat on this date in baseball history, and guess what? He walked. What a long shot that was. It was the famous, or infamous, depending on your outlook, marketing gimmick of that great baseball promoter Bill Veeck.

Veeck owned the old St. Louis Browns (today’s Baltimore Orioles) at the time, and needed to boost sagging attendance. He would only say that he planned a surprise between games of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. It didn’t seem like such a big deal when a huge cake was rolled out, out of it coming 3-foot 7-inch, 65 lb. Edward Carl “Eddie” Gaedel with number “1/8” on his back. Veeck’s real surprise, however, was having Eddie Gaedel pinch hit for the leadoff hitter, which took everyone off guard.

Veeck knew he’d get some resistance from the umpires, but he was ready. He had Gaedel sign a major league contract two days earlier. Veeck sent it to the Commissioner’s office on Friday, knowing it wouldn’t be looked at until Monday. Browns manager Zack Taylor had a copy of the contract in his pocket in the event home plate umpire Ed Hurley wanted proof Gaedel was a major leaguer. Hurley did. Taylor showed him the contract and Gaedel stepped into the batter’s box. The pitcher tried to find his strike zone. Gaedel walked on four pitches. He took a couple bows as he headed to first base, and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

The baseball establishment wasn’t crazy about the stunt. The rules were soon changed forbidding anyone from appearing in a major league game until after the Commissioner approves a contract.

Ironically, because walks don’t count as official times at bat, according to the statistics, Eddie Gaedel never batted.

Eddie Gaedel Statistics

SEASON-1951  TEAM-St. Louis Browns
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP    SLG   AVG
1 0 0  0  0   0   0    0   0  1 0   0   0  1.000  .000 .000
Career Totals
1  0 0  0  0   0   0    0   0  1 0   0   0  1.000  .000 .000

Contributing Source:
ESPN Outside The Lines

Dec 16 – Circus back in town

DECEMBER 16, 1975 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Baseball showman Bill Veeck got the keys to the Chicago White Sox on this date in 1975. Veeck’s group bought the team for $10-million (The White Sox estimated value today is more than $900-million).

This was Veeck’s second tour as owner of the team. He purchased the Sox in 1959, which turned out to be good timing because they won their first American League pennant in 40 years that season.

William Louis Veeck left his mark on major league baseball with all kinds of attention-grabbing stunts, some appreciated by his fellow owners, some not. One that drew the ire of many was while owner of the St. Louis Browns he had a midget pinch-hit. He, of course, walked. Other “gimmicks” have become standard baseball attractions. He introduced the exploding scoreboard, fireworks displays, Fan Appreciation Day, and player’s names on uniforms.

There is one baseball attraction Veeck had a hand in – literally – that has become an endearing highlight of one of baseball’s great ballparks. As a teenager he helped plant the ivy on the outfield wall of Wrigley Field when his father, William Veeck Sr., was president of the Chicago Cubs. Many say the ivy was young Bill’s idea.

Contributing sources:
MLB team valuations, Bloomberg
The Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 1975
Bill Veeck: A Baseball Mastermind, BusinessWeek, October 27, 2004

JUNE 22 IN BASEBALL HISTORY – Veeck joins the club

JUNE 22, 1946 | CLEVELAND, OHIO – Groucho Marx once said, “I would not join a club that would have someone like me for a member.” Non-conformist Bill Veeck probably shared that attitude. But on this date in 1946 Veeck (as in wreck) joins the club he would often be at odds with – the Major League Baseball owners.

Veeck was a showman who would stop at practically nothing to get fans in the stands.

Veeck put together a group, which included entertainer Bob Hope, that inked a deal for the Cleveland Indians on June 22, 1946. This was the start of a career as a major league club owner. He later ran the St. Louis Browns (today’s Baltimore Orioles) and Chicago White Sox (twice) franchises.

Veeck was a showman who would stop at practically nothing to get fans in the stands. He employed a midget who had one at bat for the Browns and walked; the pitcher had a tough time finding 3-foot/7-inch Eddie Gaedel‘s strike zone. The commissioner’s office didn’t like the idea and immediately barred Gaedel from baseball, but not before his one at bat.

There were a number of Veeck innovations fellow owners originally balked at that have since become commonplace; player names on uniforms, fireworks displays, food other than peanuts and Cracker Jacks available at the ball park.

He also understood the importance of winning. Only three teams other than the New York Yankees won the American League pennant from 1947 to 1959, two of them were Veeck’s – the ‘48 Indians and ‘59 White Sox. Each team set attendance records under Veeck’s leadership as well. Veeck wouldn’t want to join a club that would have someone like him for a member, but did just that on this date in baseball history.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES: 
Richard Dugan, United Press (UP), June 23, 1946, Cleveland, Ohio
Post season results

Nov 17th in baseball history ST. BROWNS fade to BLACK

NOVEMBER 17, 1953 |ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI • On this date in baseball history stockholders of the beleaguered St, Louis Browns franchise voted to change the team’s name from the St. Louis Browns to the Baltimore Orioles.

The name change was the final step in the transition from former owner Bill Veeck to a new group of owners which would start the 1954 baseball season near the shores of Chesapeake Bay rather than the banks of the Mississippi river.

The Browns began as the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901 – a charter American League franchise – not to be confused with the present day Brewers. The team stayed only one year in Milwaukee, moving to St. Louis in 1902 and becoming the Browns, which was the color of their uniforms.

In all the years spent in St. Louis (and one in Milwaukee) the Browns went to the post-season once. They won the American League Pennant in 1944, losing the World Series to the cross-town St. Louis Cardinals.

The franchise’s change of scenery did them good. The Baltimore Orioles have been to the post-season more than a dozen times since moving to Baltimore. They won the World Series in 1966, 1970 and 1983.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 18, 1953
World Series results year-to-year 
More on the St. Louis Browns