biography
| name: |
Veeck, Bill
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| |
popular name of William Louis Veeck Jr
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1914–86)
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| biography:
| Baseball executive, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the son of William Veeck who owned the Chicago Cubs (1919–33). He lost a leg in an injury in World War 2. He became the owner of the Cleveland Indians (1947–9), St Louis Browns (1951–3), and Chicago White Sox (1959–61, 1976–80). In 1947 he signed Larry Doby as the first African-American to play in the American League. An unabashed promoter, he was responsible for the ‘exploding’ scoreboard at Comiskey Park in Chicago, and in 1952 he sent a midget, Eddie Gaedel, to bat in a game for the Browns. He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1991. |
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