[Tony Kubek interviews Bill Veeck raw #1]

This video features raw footage of Bill Veeck being interviewed by sportscaster Tony Kubek for NBC. The crew for "A View From the Bleachers" attends the poolside interview and shoots the interview process with a hand-held camera. Tape #1 of 4.

00:00Copy video clip URL This tape begins with footage of Bill Veeck and retired baseball player and television sportscaster Tony Kubek. Veeck and Kubek speak with one another before the interview.

02:06Copy video clip URL Kubek asks Veeck about the general state of baseball. Their conversation is extremely hard to hear due to the sound of an air conditioner in the background. Veeck begins to answer by highlighting two different points of view. Veeck believes that baseball’s popularity will be high even in harsh economic times because people will want a form of escape. As Veeck talks about the current financial and managerial struggles in baseball, the camera operator gathers footage of other people listening in on the interview, including NBC crew members and guests at the hotel. Veeck goes on to talk about higher player salaries and their effect on the game.

05:00Copy video clip URL The director of the NBC piece interrupts the interview to make a couple of adjustments. Kubek then asks Veeck to compare some of the newer managerial techniques with the more traditional techniques of the past. As Veeck answers, the camera operator gathers footage of the crew at work. Veeck also goes on to talk about the effect that cable television will have on MLB. The two go on to talk about the New York Mets’ and New York Yankees’ reconfiguration of their teams. This lasts for several minutes.

12:47Copy video clip URL Kubek asks Veeck for his opinion on MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Veeck believes that Kuhn has done an “inadequate job” as commissioner. Kubek then asks Veeck to comment on the baseball reserve clause and the Flood v. Kuhn case that went before the Supreme Court in 1970. This lasts for several minutes.

16:12Copy video clip URL The crew alerts Kubek and Veeck that they have to change tapes. We watch as the crew makes the proper adjustments.

16:45Copy video clip URL Tape ends.