Borchert Field was a baseball park in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , United States. The home field for several professional baseball clubs from 1888 through 1952, it became obsolete after the construction of County Stadium in 1953 and was demolished later that year. The site is now covered by Interstate 43 .
70-456: The park was built on a rectangular block bounded by North 7th, North 8th, West Chambers, and West Burleigh Streets. Home plate was at the south end (Chambers), with the outfield bounded by the outer fence, making fair territory home-plate -shaped, with short fields in left and right and very deep power alleys, a configuration used by a number of ballparks of the era that were constrained by a narrow block. The playing field's approximate elevation
140-546: A "rent-a-player" model, centering on the acquisition of other clubs' stars in their option years. The gambit was moderately successful: in 1977 the White Sox won 90 games and finished in third place with additions such as Oscar Gamble and Richie Zisk . During this last run, Veeck decided to have announcer Harry Caray sing " Take Me Out to the Ball Game " during the seventh inning stretch. Veeck asked Caray to sing for
210-748: A Brewers loss to the Kansas City Blues in the American Association playoffs. Borchert Field was too small to accommodate Major League Baseball . Milwaukee civic leaders, seeking a major league franchise, built County Stadium to replace Borchert Field. It was intended that the Brewers would play in County Stadium in the 1953 season, but early that year their parent club, the Boston Braves , relocated to Milwaukee, so
280-499: A Major League Baseball game. Veeck sent Gaedel to pinch hit in the bottom of the first inning of the second game of a double header. Wearing "1/8" as his uniform number, Gaedel was walked on four straight pitches and then was pulled for a pinch runner. Shortly afterwards "Grandstand Manager's Day" – involving Veeck, Connie Mack , and thousands of regular fans, enabled the crowd to vote on various in-game strategic decisions (i.e., steal , bunt , change pitchers) by holding up placards:
350-544: A contract, making him the oldest rookie ever in Major League Baseball history. To take advantage of the large size of Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Veeck had a portable center field fence installed in 1947, which he could move in or out depending on how the distance favored the Indians against their opponents in a given series. The fence moved as much as 15 feet (5 m) between series opponents. Following
420-423: A game with Columbus, a windstorm pulled off the roof on the right side of the stands, sending debris flying and damaging some houses on 7th Street. The game was immediately stopped, ending in a tie. There were some serious injuries reported, but no known fatalities. That portion of the stands remained uncovered for the remaining years of the park's existence. The final game at the ballpark came on September 21, 1952,
490-721: A given spectator's view at times. The Milwaukee Badgers were in the National Football League (NFL) from 1922 to 1926 , and played their home games at Borchert Field. Borchert also hosted the first Green Bay Packers game held in Milwaukee, a 10–7 loss to the New York Giants on October 1, 1933 . The Packers played games in Milwaukee at State Fair Park ( 1934 – 1951 ), Marquette Stadium ( 1952 ), and County Stadium ( 1953 – 1994 ). The ballpark suffered weather damage on June 15, 1944. During
560-457: A hotel lobby, in full view of the public; other owners considered this undignified. Two weeks later, however, arbitrator Peter Seitz 's ruling struck down the reserve clause and ushered in the era of free agency , leading to dramatic increases in player salaries. Ironically Veeck had been the only baseball owner to testify in support of Curt Flood during his landmark court case, at which Flood had attempted to gain free agency after being traded to
630-659: A new Milwaukee Brewers club. Meanwhile, another new minor league club, the Creams, began play in a new version of the Western League . The Creams retained the lease on the Lloyd Street property, so the Brewers re-opened their 1887–1894 ballpark, initially calling it Brewer Field , although the name Athletic Park endured until around 1920. Otto Borchert, son of Milwaukee brewing pioneer Frederick Borchert, purchased
700-571: A prospective sale to Veeck. Subsequently, the article was criticized by historian Jules Tygiel, who reviewed it point-by-point in an article in the 2006 issue of SABR's The Baseball Research Journal , and in an appendix, entitled "Did Bill Veeck Lie About His Plan to Purchase the '43 Phillies?", published in Paul Dickson's biography, Bill Veeck: Baseball's Greatest Maverick . In the SABR article, Tygiel explained that Veeck and others had mentioned
770-403: A recoiling artillery piece crushed his right leg, requiring amputation first of the foot, and shortly after of the leg above the knee. Over the course of his life he had 36 operations on the leg. He had a series of wooden legs and, as an inveterate smoker, cut holes in them to use as ashtrays. Veeck also used the wooden leg in props such as a recreation of iconic Revolutionary War soldiers during
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#1732791086750840-433: A recreational area. Later, the former site of the ballpark (and the entire block) became fully occupied by Interstate 43 , Milwaukee's major north-south freeway, just north of exit 74 (Locust Street). Many of the houses on 7th and 8th streets facing the park still exist, now facing the highway, for which 7th and 8th are effectively frontage roads. In 1947 home plate was moved approximately twenty feet north, farther away from
910-658: A riot at Comiskey Park and a forfeit to the visiting Detroit Tigers . Finding himself no longer able to financially compete in the free agent era, Veeck sold the White Sox in January 1981 , albeit not without controversy, as his first choice in Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. (owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers ) was rejected by a league vote (eight votes in favor with ten required to pass). Veeck then sold
980-429: A screen to make the right field target a little more difficult for left-handed pull hitters of the opposing team. The screen was on wheels, so any given day it might be in place or not, depending on the batting strength of the opposing team. There was no rule against that activity as such, so he got away with it, until one day when he took it to an extreme, rolling it out when the opponents batted, and reeling it back when
1050-636: The Los Angeles Angels . In 1961 , due to poor health, Veeck sold his share of the White Sox to John and Arthur Allyn for $ 2.5 million. After selling the White Sox, Veeck worked intermittently as a television commentator for ABC . Veeck then moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland with his family to convalesce. When his health improved, Veeck made an unsuccessful attempt to buy the Washington Senators , then operated
1120-905: The Milwaukee Chicks of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . The Chicks won a pennant in their only year of operation. The venue hosted Games 3 and 4 of the 1937 Negro American League Championship Series, which matched the Kansas City Monarchs against the Chicago American Giants (the Monarchs won both games and the Series). Experimental night games had been staged at Borchert from time to time, using portable lighting. The trend, especially in
1190-562: The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) suggests that this story was made up or certainly exaggerated by Veeck. The two researchers could not find any references to a moveable fence or any reference to the gear required for a moveable fence to work. While a co-owner of the Brewers, Veeck served for nearly three years in the United States Marine Corps during World War II in an artillery unit. During this time
1260-586: The St. Louis Browns led to mass protests and petitions supporting Boudreau. Veeck, in response, said he would listen to the fans, and re-signed Boudreau to a new two-year contract. Veeck claimed later that the trade talks had already broken down before they became public, but he seized the opportunity to promote the concept he had dropped the idea of the trade in response to public outcry. By 1948 , led by Boudreau's .355 batting average, Cleveland won its first pennant and World Series since 1920 (as of 2023, this remains
1330-780: The Suffolk Downs race track in Boston in 1969–70. He also tried to buy the Baltimore Orioles in 1974 but failed due to troubles with the IRS . Veeck was not heard from again in baseball ownership circles until 1975 , when he repurchased the White Sox from John Allyn (sole owner since 1969). Veeck's return rankled baseball's establishment, most owners viewing him as a pariah after exposing industry politics and maneuvering in his 1961 book Veeck As In Wreck. The owners were also unhappy with Veeck's extensive unfavorable discussion of
1400-585: The integration of the American League , and the following year won a World Series title . Unable to compete in the new era of salary escalation ignited by arbitration and free agency, Veeck sold his ownership interests in the White Sox after the 1980 season. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1991. Bill Veeck was born on February 9, 1914, in Chicago . While Veeck
1470-555: The "new" Comiskey Park (now Guaranteed Rate Field ) when it opened in 1991. One year later in 1960, Veeck and former Detroit Tigers great Hank Greenberg , his partner with the Indians and White Sox, reportedly made a strong bid for the American League expansion franchise in Los Angeles. Greenberg would have been the principal owner, with Veeck as a minority partner. However Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley
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#17327910867501540-637: The 1894 season. The ballfield was also sublet to the Milwaukee Brewers club of the major league American Association for the latter part of the 1891 season, replacing the disbanded Cincinnati Kelly's Killers . After the major league American Association merged into the National League in 1892, the Milwaukee franchise was discontinued. An independent minor league named the American Association formed in 1902, including
1610-466: The 1947 season, the American League countered with a rule change that fixed the distance of an outfield wall for the duration of a season. As in Milwaukee, Veeck took a unique approach to promotions, hiring Max Patkin , the "Clown Prince of Baseball", as a coach . Patkin's appearance in the coaching box delighted fans and infuriated the front office of the American League. Although Veeck had become extremely popular, an attempt in 1947 to trade Boudreau to
1680-494: The 1964 purchase of the New York Yankees by CBS in 1965's The Hustler's Handbook (a move Veeck felt exposed MLB to dangerous antitrust liabilities and endangered the antitrust exemption established in a 1922 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court). The White Sox were slated to move to Seattle, Washington for the amount of $ 14 million while Charlie O. Finley planned to move his Oakland Athletics to Chicago. However, it
1750-516: The Bicentennial year of 1976. At other times, engaged in intensive trade talks with competing owners, Veeck would complain they were demanding "an arm and a leg" in negotiations, then unbuckle the leg and throw it on the desktop for dramatic effect. Veeck had been a fan of the Negro leagues since his early teens. He had also admired Abe Saperstein 's Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, which
1820-515: The Brewers batted. Veeck reported that the league passed a rule against it the very next day. It has been speculated that the story was made up by Veeck; research by two members of the Society for American Baseball Research revealed no evidence of either a movable fence or any gear (pulleys, etc.) required for it to work. As early as 1944, newspapers were reporting on the story of the screens, though specifics have been elusive. In that same book Veeck wrote: "Borchert Field, an architectural monstrosity,
1890-518: The Browns elsewhere. As a preliminary step, he sold Sportsman's Park to the Cardinals, who would eventually rename it as the first incarnation of Busch Stadium. At first Veeck considered moving the Browns back to Milwaukee (where they had played their inaugural season in 1901). Milwaukee recently built Milwaukee County Stadium in an attempt to entice a major league franchise. However, the decision
1960-579: The Browns to Baltimore, where they were renamed as the Orioles , which has been their name ever since. Taking advantage of inter-familial friction within the Comiskey family, in 1959 , Veeck became head of a group that purchased a controlling interest in the Chicago White Sox . Following Veeck's acquisition of the team, the White Sox went on to win their first pennant in 40 years. That year
2030-441: The Browns won, 5–3, snapping a four-game losing streak. After the 1952 season , Veeck suggested that the American League clubs share radio and television revenue with visiting clubs, a proposal anathema to the powerful Yankees, whose broadcasting revenues dwarfed all the other AL franchises. Outvoted, he refused to allow the Browns' opponents to broadcast games played against his team on the road. The league responded by eliminating
2100-406: The Cardinals had been the Browns' tenants since 1920, even though they had long since passed the Browns as St. Louis' favorite team. Some of Veeck's most memorable publicity stunts occurred during his tenure with the Browns, including the appearance on August 19, 1951, by Eddie Gaedel , who had dwarfism and stood 3 feet 7 inches (1.09 m) tall, and is the shortest person to appear in
2170-469: The Cardinals to interests who would have moved them to Houston, Texas , he instead accepted a much lower bid from St. Louis-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch , who entered the picture with the specific intent of keeping the Cardinals in town. It has long been claimed that Saigh was persuaded to accept Anheuser-Busch's bid more out of civic duty than money. However, according to Anheuser-Busch historian William Knoedelseder , Saigh's first preference all along
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2240-477: The Philadelphia Phillies. Veeck had proposed a gradual transition to a free-agent system in which players would gain free agency rights after a certain amount of service time. The owners gambled that Seitz would rule in their favor and maintain the reserve clause; he did not. On the field, Veeck presented a Bicentennial -themed " Spirit of '76 " parade on Opening Day in 1976 , casting himself as
2310-912: The Phillies and stock the team's roster with stars from the Negro leagues. Although no formal rules barred African-American players from the majors, none had appeared in organized baseball since the 1890s. Veeck quickly secured financing to buy the Phillies, and agreed in principle to buy the team from Nugent. While on his way to Philadelphia to close on the purchase, Veeck decided to alert MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis of his intentions. Veeck did not believe Landis would dare say black players were unwelcome while blacks were fighting in World War II. However, when Veeck arrived in Philadelphia, he
2380-561: The Sox to his second choice, Jerry Reinsdorf and partner Eddie Einhorn for $ 20 million. When Einhorn stated his desire to make the White Sox a "high-class operation", Veeck publicly transferred his allegiance back to the Chicago Cubs , the team his father had operated in his youth (at any rate, when the White Sox won the 2005 World Series , the Veeck family received championship rings from
2450-400: The White Sox broke a team attendance record for home games with 1.4 million. The next year the team broke the same record with 1.6 million visitors to Comiskey Park with the addition of the first "exploding scoreboard" in the major leagues – producing electrical and sound effects , and shooting fireworks whenever the White Sox hit a home run . The "exploding scoreboard" was carried over to
2520-435: The age of 71 from cancer. He was posthumously elected five years later to the Baseball Hall of Fame . Veeck was survived by his wife, Mary Frances, and eight of his nine children. Two of the surviving children, Peter and Ellen, were from his first marriage, and the others ( Mike , Marya, Greg, Lisa, Julie and Chris) were from his second marriage. He was predeceased by his eldest child, William III, who died in 1985. His body
2590-401: The alleged scheme to buy and stock the Phillies up to fifteen years before the publication of Veeck's memoir, but conceded that, "In all of these accounts the only voice telling the story remains Veeck's." The Tygiel article also conceded, "The overall assessment of Jordan, et al. - that Veeck's notion of buying the Phillies and fielding a team of Negro League stars never quite moved as far from
2660-798: The backstop and reducing the distance to center field. †= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used the stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as a result of damage. Home plate Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 254692750 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:51:26 GMT Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( / ˈ v ɛ k / VEK ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as " Sport Shirt Bill " and " Wild Bill ",
2730-562: The crosstown Chicago White Sox . Later, in 1937, he came up with the idea of planting ivy on the walls of Wrigley Field . Veeck attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts . In 1933, when his father died, Veeck left Kenyon College and eventually became club treasurer for the Cubs. In 1935, he married his first wife, Eleanor. In 1940, Veeck left Chicago and, in a syndicate with former Cubs star and manager Charlie Grimm , purchased
2800-476: The death of Caray in 1998. The 1979 season was filled with more promotions. On April 10, he offered fans free admission the day after a 10–2 Opening Day defeat by the Toronto Blue Jays . On July 12, Veeck, with assistance from son Mike and radio personality Steve Dahl , held one of his most infamous promotions, Disco Demolition Night , between games of a scheduled doubleheader, which resulted in
2870-594: The drawing board as Veeck claimed - may still be true. We still lack any solid evidence that confirms that Veeck had not only conceptualized this action, but made a firm offer to buy the Phillies and met a rebuff by Landis and (then-National League president Ford) Frick ." In 1946 , having sold his interest in the Class AAA Milwaukee Brewers, Veeck became the owner of a major league team, the Cleveland Indians . He immediately put all
Borchert Field - Misplaced Pages Continue
2940-541: The effect of allowing fans to see more fair territory than they could previously. One of the more colorful times for the stadium occurred during the early 1940s when Bill Veeck owned the team. The "PT Barnum of Baseball" brought an element of whimsy and marketing to the park, including fan giveaways of livestock, butter and vegetables, and staging morning games for third-shift wartime workers. According to his own autobiography, Veeck – As in Wreck , he claimed to have installed
3010-407: The entire field were the players themselves, and the fans in the center field bleachers. After Lou Perini bought the Brewers, he had home plate and the infield moved about 20 feet (6.1 m) toward center field. This allowed for placing bullpens in the left and right field corners, each team's pen on the opposite side of the field from their dugout so the coaching staff could watch them. It also had
3080-409: The entire park, but he refused. Veeck replied that he already had a recording, so Caray would be heard either way. Caray reluctantly agreed to sing it live, accompanied by White Sox organist Nancy Faust , and went on to become famous for singing the tune, continuing to do so at Wrigley Field after becoming the broadcaster of the Chicago Cubs in 1982. This tradition has continued there since even with
3150-499: The field in 1920. The park thereafter became known as Borchert Field. Its original seating capacity was 4,800 (Pajot; 2009), but was later expanded to 10,000. Because Milwaukee was too small to support two ballclubs, the Western League entry folded after 1903. The AA Brewers played for 51 seasons before being displaced by the major league Milwaukee Braves . Athletic Park / Brewer Field was officially renamed Borchert Field at
3220-604: The final season of baseball at Borchert Field also turned out to be the last season of Brewers minor league baseball. The minor league franchise remained the Braves' top affiliate, moving to Toledo after the Mud Hens had moved the previous year, and were renamed the Toledo Glass Sox where they won the American Association pennant that same year. After the stands were demolished, the field remained for some ten years as
3290-545: The first black player to play in the American League. Doby's first game was on July 5 and before the game, Doby was introduced to his teammates by player-manager Lou Boudreau . "One by one, Lou introduced me to each player. 'This is Joe Gordon,' and Gordon put his hand out. 'This is Bob Lemon,' and Lemon put his hand out. 'This is Jim Hegan,' and Hegan put his hand out. All the guys put their hand out, all but three. As soon as he could, Bill Veeck got rid of those three", Doby said. The following year Veeck signed Satchel Paige to
3360-448: The lucrative Friday night games in St. Louis. A year later, Cardinals owner Fred Saigh was convicted of tax evasion . Facing certain banishment from baseball, he was forced to put the Cardinals up for sale. At first, the only credible offers came from out-of-town interests, and it appeared that Veeck would succeed in driving the Cardinals out of town. However, just as Saigh was about to sell
3430-425: The minor leagues, was toward night games. Permanent lights were installed at Borchert in 1935, with the first Brewers night game being held on June 6. All of the light standards were mounted on the playing field, including a set of double poles near each corner, limiting the view of the field from some box seats. The left and right field corners were so steep and close to the field that the only observers who could see
3500-546: The organization). Veeck retired to his home in Chicago but in summer could often be found in the Wrigley Field bleachers. Veeck also wrote occasional articles for magazines and newspapers, usually opining on the overall state of baseball. Veeck had been a heavy smoker and drinker until 1980. In 1984, Veeck underwent two operations for lung cancer . Two years later, on the day after New Year's Day , 1986, he died at
3570-548: The peg-legged fifer bringing up the rear. In the same year he reactivated Minnie Miñoso for eight at-bats, in order to give Miñoso a claim towards playing in four decades; he did so again in 1980, to expand the claim to five. He also unveiled radically altered uniforms for the players, including clamdigger pants and even shorts, which the Sox wore for the first time against the Kansas City Royals on August 8, 1976. In an attempt to adapt to free agency, he developed
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#17327910867503640-520: The previous year while in Cleveland. After his second marriage, Veeck bought an 80% stake in the St. Louis Browns in 1951 . Hoping to force the NL's St. Louis Cardinals out of town, Veeck hired Cardinal greats Rogers Hornsby and Marty Marion as managers , and Dizzy Dean as an announcer; and he decorated their shared home park, Sportsman's Park , exclusively with Browns memorabilia. Ironically
3710-406: The principal owner, with approximately a 40% interest. Even though league president Will Harridge told him approval was certain, only four owners—two short of the necessary six for passage—supported it. Realizing the other owners simply wanted him out of the picture (indeed, he was facing threats of having his franchise canceled), Veeck agreed to sell his entire stake to Miles' group, who then moved
3780-463: The start of the 1928 season in honor of previous owner Otto Borchert, who had died the previous year at a baseball dinner that was being broadcast live on the radio (Podoll, p. 218). During the 1920s, the ballpark had been unofficially dubbed "Borchert's Orchard" by the media (Podoll, p. 189). Borchert Field was also home to the Milwaukee Bears , an entry in the Negro leagues , and
3850-462: The team's games on radio (previously, only limited games had been broadcast). He also moved the team to Cleveland Municipal Stadium permanently in 1947 . The team had split their games between the larger Municipal Stadium and the smaller League Park since the 1930s. However, Veeck concluded that League Park, which had been built in its final form in 1910, was far too small and deteriorated to be viable. In July of that year, he signed Larry Doby ,
3920-546: The team's, now known as the Guardians, last World Series title). Famously, the following season Veeck buried the 1948 flag, once it became mathematically certain the team could not repeat its championship in 1949 . Later that year, Veeck's first wife, Eleanor, filed for divorce. Most of his money was tied up in the Indians, so he was forced to sell the team to fund the divorce settlement. One year later, in 1950, Veeck married his second wife, Mary Frances Ackerman. He had met her
3990-407: The then-struggling Triple-A Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association . After winning three pennants in five seasons Veeck sold his Milwaukee franchise in 1945 for a $ 275,000 profit. According to his autobiography Veeck – As in Wreck , Veeck claimed to have installed a screen to make the right field target a little more difficult for left-handed pull hitters of the opposing team. The screen
4060-606: Was 690 feet (210 m) above sea level . Originally known as Athletic Park , the park opened for baseball in May, 1888. During winter, it was flooded and served as an ice hockey rink . The ballfield replaced the Wright Street Grounds . (Podoll, p. 46) The ballpark operated as the home of the Milwaukee Creams of the Western League , later renamed the Brewers. The Creams/Brewers played there through
4130-399: Was Andy McKenna who approached Veeck about the possibility of returning home to Chicago, which got Veeck to assemble an ownership group to make an offer for the team. On December 16, 1975, Veeck's group purchased the team from Allyn. Almost immediately after reassuming control of the Sox, Veeck unleashed another publicity stunt. He and general manager Roland Hemond conducted four trades in
4200-445: Was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians , the St. Louis Browns , and the Chicago White Sox . Veeck was the last owner to purchase a baseball franchise without an independent fortune, and is responsible for many innovations and contributions to baseball. As owner and team president of the Indians in 1947, Veeck signed Larry Doby , thus beginning
4270-552: Was based in Chicago. Saperstein saved Veeck from financial disaster early on in Milwaukee by giving him the right to promote the Globetrotters in the upper Midwest in the winter of 1941–42. In the fall of 1942, Veeck met with Gerry Nugent , president of the Philadelphia Phillies , to discuss the possibility of buying the struggling National League team. He later wrote in his memoirs that he intended to buy
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#17327910867504340-746: Was cremated. Mike Veeck became a minor league and independent baseball executive and was the co-founder of the St. Paul Saints , a successful charter member of the Northern League . The younger Veeck emulated many of Bill Veeck's promotional stunts with the Saints. Greg Veeck earned a Ph.D. at the University of Georgia in 1988 and is a geography professor at Western Michigan University focusing on urban geology and East Asia. Mary Frances Veeck died in Hyde Park, Ill., on September 10, 2022, at
4410-478: Was growing up in Hinsdale, Illinois , his father, William Veeck Sr. , became president of the Chicago Cubs . Veeck Sr. was a local sports writer who wrote numerous columns about how he would run the Cubs differently, and the team's owner, William Wrigley Jr. , took him up on the implied offer. While growing up, the younger Veeck worked as a popcorn vendor for the Cubs and also as a part-time concession salesman for
4480-405: Was in the hands of the Boston Braves , the parent team of the Brewers. Under major league rules of the time, the Braves held the major league rights to Milwaukee. The Braves wanted another team with the same talent if the Brewers were shut down, and an agreement was not made in time for the start of the 1953 season. Ironically, a few weeks later, the Braves themselves moved to Milwaukee. St. Louis
4550-472: Was known to want the team to stay, so some in St. Louis campaigned for the removal of Veeck. Undaunted, Veeck got in touch with a group that was looking to bring a major league franchise to Baltimore, Maryland . After the 1953 season , Veeck agreed in principle to sell half his stock to Baltimore attorney Clarence Miles , the front man of the Baltimore group, and his other partners. He would have remained
4620-509: Was not willing to compete with a team owned by Veeck, even if he would only be a minority partner. When O'Malley heard of the deal, he invoked his exclusive franchise rights for Southern California. Any potential owner of an American League team in the area would have had to have O'Malley's approval, and it was apparent that O'Malley would not allow any team to set up shop with Veeck as a major shareholder. Rather than try to persuade his friend to back out, Greenberg abandoned his bid for what became
4690-411: Was on wheels, so any given day it might be in place or not, depending on the batting strength of the opposing team. There was no rule against that activity as such, but Veeck then took it to an extreme, rolling it out when the opponents batted, and pulling it back when the Brewers batted. Veeck reported that the league passed a rule against it the very next day. However, extensive research by two members of
4760-413: Was so constructed that the fans on the first-base side of the grandstand couldn't see the right fielder, which seemed perfectly fair in that the fans on the third-base side couldn't see the left fielder. 'Listen,' I told them. 'This way you'll have to come back twice to see the whole team.'" Veeck's comments referred to the exceptionally high corners, which could theoretically hide the closest outfielder from
4830-494: Was surprised to discover that the National League had taken over the Phillies and was seeking a new owner (the Phillies were ultimately sold to lumber baron William D. Cox ). The authors of a controversial article in the 1998 issue of SABR's The National Pastime argued that Veeck invented the story of buying the Phillies and filling their roster with Negro leaguers, claiming Philadelphia's black press made no mention of
4900-450: Was to sell the Cardinals to interests who would keep the team in St. Louis. What is beyond dispute is that as soon as Anheuser-Busch closed on its purchase of the Cardinals, Veeck knew he was finished in St. Louis. He quickly realized that with Anheuser-Busch's wealth behind them, the Cardinals now had more financial resources than he could even begin to match, especially since he had no other source of income. Reluctantly, he decided to move
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