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Veeck: A Man For Any Season Date: 01/01/85 | Running Time: 28 min. Add Veeck: A Man For Any Season to playlist Nominate this video My Clip Video Editor Bookmark/episode description Save

Bill Veeck was a legend in baseball. He was the colorful owner of the Chicago White Sox (twice), the Cleveland Indians, and the old St. Louis Browns. His Chicago baseball roots go back to the 1920s when he actually planted the vines in the outfield at Wrigley Field. This documentary is an intimate portrait of the man and his world, in 1984, the year before his death. The story is told using voice over by Veeck's wife, Mary Frances, current and archival interviews with Veeck and his colleagues, and footage of Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field. It covers many of his famous promotions, such as when he sent 3'7" Eddie Gaedel to bat for the St. Louis Browns. He was called "The Barnum of Baseball" for his showmanship, but he was also a deep, lovable, down-to-earth "regular guy." 0:00 Slate, logo. 0:02 Veeck recites myth of how the elephant got his trunk, a quote from Kipling. 0:37 Opening music and voice over about Veeck's accomplishments, narrated by Mary Frances Veeck, over a montage of archival Veeck clips. 2:20 Archival clip from "Person to Person" with Veeck and his wife Mary Frances walking around and talking about their home in Hyde Park. Ed Murrow gives Veeck's bio to age 45. 2:47 Veeck talks about his father and the lessons he taught him about money and life. 3:50 Clip from Bill Veeck's Front Office TV show. Veeck talks about the evolution of his career. Photograph of Veeck with Charlie Grimm. 4:44 Lou Boudreau credits Veeck with introducing entertainment to baseball. 4:58 Harry Caray talks about Veeck and his promotional innovations. 5:11 Veeck talks about his strategies with promoting and the Eskimo Pie giveaways. 5:45 Archival footage of Veeck's famous promotions (little person batting, shower in the bleachers, exploding scoreboard, etc.) with voice over describing them. 6:15 Veeck at Wrigley Field, where he worked as a young man for his father, who was the president of the Chicago Cubs. He talks about how much he loves that ballpark and reminisces about planting the vines in the outfield and the yard arm in center field. 6:40 Mary Frances voice over explains Veeck's early work for Wrigley. 7:00 Veeck on Murrow show explaining his promotional philosophy. 7:23 Veeck in Miller's Pub, saying that fans in the ballpark should be treated like guests to your home, and that the owners are merely custodians for the fans of Chicago. 8:05 Steve Stone sings his praises. 8:22 Veeck talks about the huge crowds at Wrigley. 9:18 Bill Gleason says that conversation with Bill Veeck is extremely stimulating. 9:37 Veeck sits in the bleachers and speculates what the future of baseball and ballparks will be. 10:07 Gleason talks further about Veeck's encyclopedic knowledge. 10:26 Veeck talks about the value of reading. 11:09 Veeck picks out books at Kroch's and Brentano's. 11:53 Bertha Mazer, Dept of Aging and Disability for the City of Chicago, says Veeck is the man of this city and that everyone loves him. 12:00 Mayor Harold Washington praises Veeck as a man of the people. 12:10 Clips of Veeck waving and greeting people, including Minnie Minoso, to the tune of "When You're Smilin'." 13:04 Veeck in Wrigley says he has seen all of America's natural wonders and still thinks that the most beautiful thing is a ballpark filled with people. 13:59 On opening day, Veeck walks across Sheffield into the bleachers and is greeted by enthusiastic admirers. 14:42 Veeck talks about opening day at the ballpark and about buying tickets for employees of Illinois Masonic Hospital out of gratitude for the excellent medical care he has received during his most recent and critical hospital stay. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them." 15:32 Sitting on the grass by the Shedd Aquarium looking at the Chicago skyline, Veeck argues with John Mengelt about the Cubs and their fans and the reason WGN bought the team. 17:22 Shot of Veeck’s classic car pulling away from a gas station with narration by Mary Frances. 17:40 Veeck asserts that he and Mary Frances are in disagreement with almost everything that President Ronald Reagan stands for. 18:42 More footage from “Person to Person.” 18:54 At the Westin Hotel in Chicago in 1985, Veeck is inducted to the Chicago Hall of Fame. 19:46 In one of his thousands of free personal appearances, this one at Northeastern Illinois University, Veeck makes fun of himself for his career with the dismal St. Louis Browns in the 1950s. "Do you want to sit at second base? We're not using it this year." 20:43 Mary Frances says that not many people know the introspective side of Veeck. Shots of Veeck gardening in his backyard, showing his bronze-painted wooden leg. 21:14 Veeck talks about his wife and their lifestyle. They live very modestly because he doesn't think that things that are more expensive are necessarily better. 23:13 "Meet Bill Veeck." The opening of the 1956 Chicago TV show, which gives a brief biographical sketch of the host. "Meet Bill Veeck. Bill who? Veeck (as in 'wreck' )...Who is he? Well...He's a man of parts...as they say. He dislikes pomp & can’t...He can spot phonies. Presto! He has definite ideas...about sports...and the world...and the people in it. He has written 2 books...owned 3 baseball clubs...has 9 kids...and a lovely wife named Mary Frances. His is a refreshing voice of candor and truth...in a column syndicated in 80 American cities. Hear that voice now...and find out for yourself who Bill Veeck is!" 23:47 Veeck talks about time and how we perceive it at different stages of our lives. "Time, of course, is purely relative. Time can seem endless to a youngster. The night before Christmas, when you were five years old, waiting for Santa, never passed. A summer day when you were a youngster seemed endless...But when you get older, you first recognize the limitations of time. And you also recognize that you can't really stretch time yourself. So it is no longer endless. It is finite, rather than infinite. So being finite, as you get closer to what is accepted as a general terminal point, you find that without question that that time becomes more precious. Because there's less of it. Maybe that's the reason that elderly people - of which I don't classify myself as one, although I fit into the time category - elderly people don't sleep as much. Because maybe that allows them - they say they don't need as much sleep - but maybe that allows them to maximize the time that they have that is conscious. And babies sleep almost all the time. Because it doesn't matter. So you see here, you have these two extremes. And they're approaching each other and you don't really recognize with what great speed they are approaching until you get near the end. And then you have a greater appreciation of what is going to happen that you may miss." He talks about his time at Illinois Masonic Hospital and worrying that he would never see his wife again.  26:44 Mary Frances and Bill Veeck close Person To Person. 27:07 Veeck with fans at Cubs game singing "Take Me Out To the Ball Game." Credits. 27:34 Veeck gives one last sound byte - "This is the epitome of pleasure." 27:45 End of tape. Main Credits: produced and directed by Tom Weinberg and Jamie Ceaser Additional Credits: camera by Emmett E. Wilson, Mark Steinway, and Harvey Moshman ; audio by Robert Dove and Jerry Hanna ; edited by Mark Steinway no related documents List of comments You need to be registered user to post comments. Please login or register. Click here to login Your Clips This feature is available only in Clipstream version.