[Veeck: A Man For Any Season raw #11]

Bill Veeck at Murphy's #2. Raw footage for "Veeck: A Man for Any Season."

00:00Copy video clip URL Color bars and tone.

00:20Copy video clip URL Veeck continues his conversation in front of the fireplace, while drinking an Old Style. He tells a story about his time in Milwaukee, and the plan to put together the All American Girls Baseball Team and the Milwaukee Symphony. He recalls that this turned out to be a disaster because the fans of each were offended and annoyed.

02:45Copy video clip URL He goes on to talk about the idea of a “promoter,” which he calls himself, in the “Webster” definition, “to move forward.” He speaks of baseball promotion, saying that baseball has done very little in terms of creativity and contribution despite the opportunities that it has to do so. He calls most athletes notoriously un-liberal, which stems from their coaching, which seeks to keep them in line. He laughs about the umpires, as well, as another example of how sports are steeped in tradition. He recalls his idea to put names on the back of the uniform so that fans wouldn’t have to buy a score card. He comments on what an uprising there was against that idea.

08:30Copy video clip URL Weinberg asks Veeck to comment on the lure of tradition in baseball. Veeck says that baseball is an island of security in an uncertain world. But even with that, there’s so much change that baseball has undergone over the years, many of which he outlines. He goes on to report that the distance between home and first base and between bases has always been the same. He notes that this is remarkable, and that despite changes in the “human animal,” all of it stays in balance.

14:15Copy video clip URL He goes on to talk about the Cubs season of the previous year, and how the grounds of Wrigley were manicured to fit the unique style of the players to maximize their strengths. He laughs that the Cubs simply couldn’t find a first baseman who would bend over. He talks also about Emil Bosset, the finest groundskeeper he’s ever known. He finishes by recapping the inevitability of change and how people resist it, but in the end, they say, “We knew it all the time.”

16:13Copy video clip URL End of tape.