M-P Quilters Guild Bill Veek Was Champion For Game of Baseball To Meet April 11th The Marshall-Putnam Quilter's By Dennis Anderson League pennants under Veeck Sr., if the Browns should bunt, steal Guild will hold their regular meet- Of the Peoria Journal Star who died in 1933 when his son a base or play the infield in. The ing on Wednesday, April 11 at the Bill Veeck wasn’t your typical was just 19 and a student at Ken- Browns beat Philadelphia 5-3 that Henry Presbyterian Church in Hen- baseball team owner. yon College in Ohio. The son left day. ry. The meeting will start at 1:00 He was listed in the Chicago school to return to work for the Money issues often prompted p.m. and after the regular meeting, phonebook. He often walked the Cubs, becoming team treasurer. Veeck to sell his teams but rarely a program will be given by Karen Comiskey Park concourse shaking “He wanted to fulfill what his was he out of the game for long. Bailey called Elephant Stew. Show hands as he limped on his wooden dad was doing,” Dickson said. After leaving St. Louis, he returned and Tell will follow the program. leg that he retrofitted with an ash- “Part of that was planting the ivy. to Chicago, buying the White Sox There is no workshop this month. tray. He carried out the mission that in 1959. That year, the Sox made Hope to see you there. As a young man he planted the Wrigley wanted. He kept Wrigley the World Series for the first time ivy on the outfield walls at Wrig- Field a friendly place. Cubs games in 40 years, but lost to the Los An- ley Field. were a social place as well as as geles Dodgers. Veeck would again LACON He hired Larry Doby, the first athletic event. Veeck made sure sell his team. black to play in the American the hot dogs were hot and the beer One of Veeck’s best friends was CHIROPRACTIC League just months after Jackie was cold.” Abe Saperstein, owner of the Har- Robinson broke the color barrier In 1942, Veeck, along with for- lem Globetrotters. CENTER with the Brooklyn Dodgers. And mer Cubs star and manager Char- “They were two of a kind, pro- he owned the Cleveland Indians lie Grimm, bought the Triple-A moters,” Dickson said. “At one Beth Ann McKee, D.C. when they last won a World Series Milwaukee Brewers. Veeck exper- point the two of them talked about Michael D. Girone, D.C. in 1948. imented with promotions (includ- buying a circus. It was a Chicago In later years, he was a regular ing a contest to rename the ladies’ style — brash. If Veeck grew up Chiropractic on Chicago sports TV talk shows room. The winner was “Hall of somewhere else he’d be a differ- offering reasoned arguments on Fem.”) and game times, seeking to ent person. He grew up reading the Physicians politics and society, and was often attract as many fans as possible. Chicago writers, people from his seen on WGN broadcasts of Cubs He also enlisted in the Marines, father’s era, like Ring Lardner. It Phone (309) 246-2566 games shirtless with a beer in his serving three years in an artillery was a different kind of place than 1109 5th St., hand sitting among the fans in the unit (the same unit as Peoria native anywhere else.” Wrigley Field bleachers. and Chicago Cubs announcer Jack In 1976, Veeck purchased his P.O. Box 226, Lacon, IL Bill Veeck was a showman, Brickhouse) during World War II. last baseball team, the Chicago nonconformist and a champion for Veeck’s leg was crushed by a re- White Sox again. This was on the the game of baseball and the fan. coiling artillery piece and his foot eve of player free agency when And he’s an Illinois product. was amputated. He would later salaries headed north of $1 million Veeck was born in Hinsdale in have more than 30 surgeries on the for top stars. Veeck created a strat- 1914. One of his early jobs was leg and lived the rest of his life in egy to keep the Sox competitive: working with his father, who ran constant pain. rent-a-player, in which he would the Chicago Cubs in the 1920s and Veeck sold his interest in the bring in a player in the last year of 1930s, selling everything from Milwaukee club and in 1946 pur- his contract with no intention of tickets to popcorn. chased the Cleveland Indians. signing him after the season. “His father, William Veeck Sr., With Doby in the Cleveland “It solidified him as to who he wrote for the Chicago American lineup, Veeck also signed legend- was,” Dickson said of rent-a-play- under the name Bill Bailey. He ary pitcher Satchel Paige of the er. “He relished this opportunity.” was intensely critical of the Cubs. Negro Leagues, making him the By 1981, Veeck could no longer It was unheard of at the time to oldest rookie in baseball history. complete with baseball’s new fi- take a newspaper writer and make The Indians won the World Series nancial structure and sold the him the general manager of the in 1948. A year later, and in need team. He left the game but his team,” said Paul Dickson, author of money to settle a divorce with legacy continues and can be seen of “Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Great- his first wife, Veeck sold the Indi- in every major- and minor-league est Maverick.” “He comes in and ans. ballpark, from the promotions to (owner William Wrigley Jr.) just In 1951, Veeck bought the low- the scoreboards. He also had an in- loves him. ly St. Louis Browns. According fluence on race and integration of “He went in with the idea that to one tale, when a fan called the the game. Wrigley wanted to promote the Browns’ offices to see what time “Veeck opened the park for kids, team as an event for the whole that day’s game was supposed to women and families,” Dickson family, rather than a game for start, Veeck responded, “What said. “He knew the game was con- guys with a cigar in their mouth. time can you make it?” stantly facing challenges and he He sold it as a summer oasis. They Some of Veeck’s greatest stunts knew he had to keep a step ahead. planted trees and the ivy on the took place in St. Louis. In August He realized the total package of outfield wall and redid the bleach- 1951, Eddie Gaedel, who stood well-contained insanity. While it ers and put in new concession 3 feet 7 inches and wore number didn’t always work, consider Dis- stands with better food. Wrigley 1/8, suited up for the Browns. The co Demolition (when the White was a great advertising man and shortest man to ever play in the Sox had to forfeit a game because filled the newspapers with ads, major leagues walked in his only fans destroyed the field), he had a not about how great the team was, plate appearance. major impact on the game.” but about the experience at Wrig- V eeck also turned game man- Journal Star Executive Editor ley Field, about how much fun the agement over to the fans for a Dennis Anderson can be reached PETS OF THE WEEK family was going to have.” game, giving the crowd signs stat- at [email protected] or on The A.R.K. Humane Society The Cubs won two National ing “Yes” and “No” when asked Twitter at @dennisedit. is open from noon to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, or by appointment. For more information call The A.R.K., 477 State Route 26, Lacon, at 309-246-4275.

PEPPER Precious little Pepper is only eight months old, and she is everything a puppy should be. Standing less than knee-high, she is happy as can be PAULETTE and she loves attention and affec- Paulette is a beautiful 4-month tion. She is friendly with everyone, old kitten with a fabulous person- and she gets along well with other ality. She is playful and very friend- polite and playful dogs like her. (She ly and is just all the things a kitten even charms the grumpy ones!) She should be! She has been fostered in also listens well and loves to please a home with dogs, so she gets along her people. Pepper is spayed, mi- with them and other cats well. Pau- cro-chipped and current on all her lette is spayed, micro-chipped and Bill Veeck accepts the keys to Comiskey Park in 1976 after purchasing the Chicago White Sox for a second shots. current on all her shots. time. The Associated Press LACON HOME JOURNAL, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018 - 5