the man who brought a dwarf (Eddie Gaedel) to bat in the major leagues, was born on this date in 1914.
Read about Gaedel’s time at the plate, told as the first chapter of Veeck’s autobiography, Veeck as in Wreck: “When Eddie went into that crouch, his strike zone was just about visible to the naked eye. I picked up a ruler and measured it for posterity. It was 1-1/2 inches. Marvelous.”
Veeck (it rhymes with wreck) died in 1986. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Bill Veeck was also the man who planted the vines in Wrigley Field. He spent the bulk of his retirement sitting in Wrigley’s bleechers. Though Cub management offered him better seats,he preferred what were then $4 seats beyond the outfield walls, hanging out with what he called “the most knowledgable fans in baseball.”
On warm days Veeck sat with his shirt off, beer in hand, talking with whoever was around him and placing the small, pitch-by-pitch bets that are a primary form of recreation at Wrigley. He’d lost a leg to diabetes, and to get comfortable he often unstrapped his prosthetic leg, and some times waved it in celebration when the Cubs did something good.
Corporate baseball would never allow someone like Veeck to own and operate a team anymore. That’s really unfortunate, because no one loved the game more than Veeck.