Mike veecks brand expands with official affiliation with. Disco demolition night was a major league baseball mlb promotion on thursday, july 12, 1979, at comiskey park in chicago, illinois, that ended in a riot. The problem facing veeck, president of the miracle of. Son of the late hall of fame club owner bill veeck, he has followed his fathers lead, with innovative promotions that have been profiled by 60 minutes, usa today, sports illustrated, fortune, people, and countless other media outlets. Mike veeck wrote a book that covered the mantra fun is good 2005 and describes the business approach he has used for many years. This book is full of the many anecdotes that made veeck a household name in the mid20th century.
Influenced and inspired by the classic sports book veeck. His classic autobiography, written with the talented sportswriter ed linn, is an uproarious book packed with information about the history of baseball and tales of players and owners, including some of the most entertaining stories in all of sports literature. Apr 01, 2005 veeck s father, bill, spent about 40 years tweaking major league baseballs stuffed shirts with his legendary promotions including sending a midget up to bat and bequeathed to mike an. Bill veeck was born on the right side of the tracks. Mike veeck, the comic maestro of the minor leagues, tells jim caple how thinking outside the batters box like his father and his friend bill murray has helped him make ballpark magic. Saints owner mike veeck on his father, racial justice and the. The public viewed the eventorganized with the help of mike veeck, son of sox owner bill veeck as an uncontrolled riot that signaled youth culture had once again. We were not doing well, says bill s son, mike veeck. Because fun is what mike, like all the veecks, is all about. Son of the late hall of fame baseball owner bill veeck, he has followed his. The book is part business philosophy, part autobiography, part confessional, part homage to his late father bill veeck, part salute to his 12year old daughter who is fighting blindness as the result of retinitis pigmentosa, part a baseball love story and all fun. Baseball marketing maven mike veeck to give convocation. He has written a book with pete williams titled fun is good. The veeck family started in baseball nearly a century ago when mike s grandfather was president of the chicago cubs.
The first two were reissued in updated editions in the 1980s following veecks return to baseball ownership. Dec 02, 2020 after the infamous disco demolition night in 1979 at comiskey park, mike veeck spent a decade out of baseball. The elder veeck sold the white sox two years after the event and spent the last summers of his life in the center field bleachers at wrigley field. Hes thinking about the five minor league teams he consults and writes ads for, besides the five he partly owns.
Mike veeck, the funniest man in baseball, on making. You might say baseball, and business, are in mike veeck s dna. Veeck family values marilyn monroe lookalikes, nuns. May 17, 20 little leaguers made decisions on close calls in a home game for the st. Mike veeck, the longtime president and coowner of the independent minor league st. Mike veeck, the comic maestro of the minor leagues, tells jim caple.
Bill veeck comes as close to a mustread as any baseball book in recent memory. The second that first guy shimmied down the outfield wall, i knew my life was over. When veeck along with actorcomedian bill murray and lawyer marv goldklang started the independent minor league st. Paul saints of the independent northern league, she accomplished what no woman had done since the negro leagues era. Bill veeck comes as close to a must read as any baseball book in recent memory. Son of the late hall of fame club owner bill veeck, he has followed his fathers lead, with innovative promotions that have been profiled by 60 minutes, usa today, sports illustrated, fortune, people, and. Oct 24, 2016 mike veeck said his father did not think he had been shunted aside in the story of how segregation in baseball came to an end. Bill veeck was inducted into baseballs hall of fame the same year, rebecca was born. Jul 11, 2016 mike veeck s career crashed, and never really recovered. Dec 12, 2020 orestes armas minoso, known to all as minnie, truly was ageless in the minds of bill veeck and his son mike, and we have proof. Forty years later, disagreement about disco demolition.
Veeck as in wreck 1962 a straightforward autobiography. While bill veeck s life is headed for the big screen, son mike veeck s baseball teamthe st. Veecks son dusts off old idea and crowdsources the umpiring. Bill veecks spirit lives with minors miracle orlando sentinel. Mike veeck is president and part owner of six wildly successful minorleague baseball teams. Jul 03, 2020 a veteran of four majorleague front offices, veeck is the son of the legendary bill veeck, who owned the st. Bill veeck you know from reputation the wacky promoter who invented everything from ladies day to disco demolition night. The elder veeck sold the white sox two years after the event and spent the last. Told with humor and a great deal of affection by rolling stone writer neal karlen, slouching toward fargo is an unforgettable tale of bigtime characters playing smalltown baseball who learn to love the game all over again.
If you know mike and i suspect most of our readers do, on some. Veeck wrote three autobiographical works, each a collaboration with journalist ed linn. The saints are partly owned by mike veeck, the son of bill veeck. Aug 01, 2005 william veeck v bill veeck v mike veeck v rebecca veeck and deliver you midgets and martians and mimes being pelted with hot dogs, which tolstoy never did. The son of hall of famer bill veeck and purveyor of the zaniest ballpark.
The book follows the team during the time that darryl strawberry played for them mandated baseball. While fun is the main theme of the book and one of our fans first way core beliefs, this togetherness hit home. His classic autobiography, written with the talented sportswriter ed linn, is an uproarious book packed with information about the history of baseball and tales of players a. The funniest man in baseball is having the last laugh abc news. May 22, 2016 you might say baseball, and business, are in mike veeck s dna. Veeck as in wreck seattle public library overdrive. After mike veeck signed borders in may 1997 to pitch for his st. William louis veeck jr also known as sport shirt, was an american major league baseball. Bill veeck on the important things in life youtube. Son of former cleveland indians owner bill veeck glad to see chief.
Veeck shares stories from working with his dad where he picked up horse manure at suffolk downs to bill murray picking up trash after concerts. Book report fun is good by mike veeck find your yellow tux. Paul, mn coowned by bill murray yes, that bill murray and mike veeck, son of former chicago white sox owner bill veeck. Paul saints, veeck has followed in his father bill s footsteps in making baseball fun again. From the days of disco demolition night to free vasectomy night, veeck is the breath of fresh air baseball desperately needs.
A former owner of several minor league teams, mike veeck is now an. Mike veeck has been called the funniest man in baseball. Veeck family values marilyn monroe lookalikes, nuns giving. Orestes armas minoso, known to all as minnie, truly was ageless in the minds of bill veeck and his son mike, and we have proof. Louis browns, cleveland indians, chicago white sox and the then minor league milwaukee brewers. Bill veecks spirit lives with minors miracle orlando. An odd twist of fate pairs saints owners veeck, murray with. Michael weinreb is former sports feature writer for the akron beacon journa. Bigtime characters play smalltown baseball and learn to love the game all over again. The elder veeck was an owner of baseball teams known for his inventive promotions, his disdain for the baseball establishment. Mike veecks brand expands with official affiliation with twins.
An odd twist of fate pairs saints owners veeck, murray. Rossi, the truth about bill veeck and the 43 phillies, sabrs the national pastime, no. When veeck along with actorcomedian bill murray and lawyer. Bill veeck was an inspired team builder, a consummate showman, and one of the greatest baseball men ever involved in the game. Starring team coowners bill murray and mike veeck, and a roster that includes darryl strawberry and jack morris, not to mention wayne terwilliger. Paul saints at the bottom of the bush leagues with bill murray, darryl strawberry, dakota sadie and me by neal karlen, mike veeck foreword by. Borders played four professional seasons and in 1998 became the first woman in the modern era to win a professional ball game. Winner of the prestigious casey award for best baseball book of 1999. Louis browns, cleveland indians, chicago white sox and the thenminor league milwaukee brewers.
I dont think being second to branch ever bothered him, he said. Mike veeck had a promising career in major league baseball until the night of the promotion. Mar 25, 2005 mike veeck is president and part owner of six minor league baseball teams and the author of fun is good. Jul 12, 2019 we were not doing well, says bill s son, mike veeck. Paul saints and a former mlb team executive, took the. This is the hilarious account of the two years neal karlden spent with the st. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the twinight doubleheader between the chicago white sox and the detroit tigers. After the infamous disco demolition night in 1979 at comiskey park, mike veeck spent a decade out of baseball. Nov 28, 2015 mike veeck has been called the funniest man in baseball. Mike veecks career crashed, and never really recovered. This spring, he will publish a book about his business mantra, fun is good r.
Mike veeck has since become the owner of minor league baseball teams. He eventually ended up running an ad agency in south florida. When 100,000 people chanting disco sucks stormed the 40,000 seat ballpark and streamed out onto the field, mike s standing as a sports promotion renegade was cemented. Mike veeck became owner of the independent minorleague st. Louis browns, cleveland indians and chicago white sox, and grandson of william louis. She is sitting with her daughter marya on a midaugust morning in the patio of her hyde park retirement home. Another boring, derivative, piece of crap business book. Bill veecks life and times are covered in detail in his extraordinary. And as soon as he was capable, dragged himself to the other side, says mike veeck with a laugh about his father, the maverick hall of fame.
Forty years later, disagreement about disco demolition night. Rebecca veeck, saints ballpark greeter from childhood. Mike s father bill, a member of the baseball hall of fame, was the owner of the st. Mar 02, 1991 when mike veeck heard the news, he was at his desk and true to his fathers enduring spirit racking his brain over a ballpark promotion. The teams history is also featured in the documentary film for the fun of the game, which was released in 2018. The family of former white sox owner and baseball maverick bill veeck is appalled at the plans of a chicago tavern owner to auction off their patriarchs wooden leg next month. Bill veeck always wanted fans to expect the unexpected and believed that every day is mardi gras and every fan is king. There are red begonias, sunflowers, and gold daisies. Bill veeck marketed, promoted, and sold baseball like no one before him and like no one since. When 100,000 people chanting disco sucks stormed the 40,000 seat ballpark and streamed out onto the field, mike s standing as a.
A guy recently told me, your father used to say, im in the phone book, call me up. Mike veeck, president and part owner of six wildly successful minor league. The two things you need to know before you buy veeck as in wreck and you will buy this book, you must, if youve ever bought any professional sports bio before are the names veeck and linn. Mike veeck shares stories about his hall of fame father bill veeck and how he used the same philosophy with all of his teams, creating some of the most classic sports promotions along the way.
Baseball team owner mike veeck rose to infamy with his historical disco demolition promotion for his father bill veeck s chicago white sox team. Mikes father, bill, was a hall of fame owner with the st. Veecks son dusts off old idea and crowdsources the. Rebecca was a mainstay at riley park, greeting guests, answering the phone and being a chip off the old man. A guy recently told me, your father used to say, im in the phone bo. Hes the son of legendary hall of fame baseball owner and marketer bill veeck, a man whose. Veecks father, bill, spent about 40 years tweaking major league. Daughters death last september took the wind out of the. Nov 03, 2015 mike veeck, the comic maestro of the minor leagues, tells jim caple how thinking outside the batters box like his father and his friend bill murray has helped him make ballpark magic. Nov, 2019 eventually, the family settled into life in charleston, s.
Longtime charleston riverdogs owner and executive mike veeck and his daughter rebecca attend a riverdogs game at riley park in 2006. When veeck along with actorcomedian bill murray and lawyer marv goldklang. Mike veeck, the funniest man in baseball, on making ballpark. The book concludes with a call to spread the word through mentoring and volunteering. If theres one thing mike veeck learned from his father and from. Mike veeck, the funniest man in baseball, on making ballpark magic. What mike veeck learned about himself from his daughter. Steve dahls career ascended after disco demolition. There karlen ran into mike veeck, son of baseball legend bill veeck. Daughters death last september took the wind out of the st. May, 2010 with an introduction by basketball standout rebecca lobo, the book features a collection of essays written by a stellar roster of sports journalists, champion athletes, and celebrated writers that. Maverick marketing whiz mike veeck is ready to share his simple, failproof formula for business success. When minnie grounded out for mike veeck s saints on june 30, 1993.
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