[Veeck: A Man For Any Season raw #17]

Bill Veeck wraps up an interview in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. Raw footage for "A Man for Any Season."

00:00Copy video clip URL Veeck points up to the scoreboard and laughs as he reminisces of his experiences with the scoreboard and yardarm, calling the Budweiser signs an “abomination.”

00:50Copy video clip URL He speaks briefly about the vines and the foul poles, noting about the umpires, “Ooh how they cried.”

01:15Copy video clip URL “I guess I have seen everything in this country that is known to be one of the unusual things of nature, whether it be Yosemite, Old Faithful, or whether it be the Grand Canyon from the bottom or from the top, I’ve been… Bryce Canyon, the Natural Bridges, the Painted Desert, even the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. I’ve seen them all and the most beautiful thing is a ball park filled with people. Other people can have great acts of nature. That’s mine. And the next most wonderful thing is a ball park half-filled with people.”

02:20Copy video clip URL Production ends as they remove Veeck’s microphone and discuss their plans for lunch. Silent footage of Veeck walking up the bleachers, taking a look at the field. Sound comes back in as Veeck and Weinberg chat briefly.

05:05Copy video clip URL Veeck shows one of the only pieces of the original brick wall of the ball park that still remain and talks about the changes to the park that have occurred over the years, including the addition of the upper deck, clubhouse renovations, and other renovations. He talks also about a “school” for city ball players that that they ran to attract potential major leaguers. He compares this to the draft, which is the way to sign players today. He notes that this kind of camp would be impossible today.

08:03Copy video clip URL Veeck walks down the ramp on his way out the park talking about the difficulty of walking down ramps. They walk out of the park and on to the street.

09:45Copy video clip URL Panning shots of the park, including the scoreboard and bleachers, grounds crew and a neighborhood sign that reads, “No Lights! at Wrigley Field.”

18:29Copy video clip URL End of tape.