THE MARKETING GENIUS

July 07, 2023

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as Moe Berg loved newspapers.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about one of baseball’s most genius marketing minds and how he transformed the game.

Bill Veeck was one of the most iconic executives in baseball history.

The guy was an incredible promoter, owned three different MLB teams, and helped break the color barrier in the American League when he signed Larry Doby in 1947.

The next year, he signed Satchel Paige.

Bill Veeck & Larry Doby, Photo Cred: SABR

Honestly, Bill was born to do this shit.

His dad, William Veeck Sr., was the President of the Chicago Cubs for many years — he built three pennant-winning teams in 1929, 1932, and 1935.

Veeck Sr. got his start as a sportswriter under the pseudonym Bill Bailey.

After he openly criticized the Cubs in his columns, Owner William Wrigley challenged him to try running the team himself and see if he could do any better.

William accepted the the dare in 1918 and the rest is history.

Bill followed in his dad's footsteps, and in 1946, he bought his first major-league team: the Cleveland Indians.

During his time there, he set attendance records and won a World Series.

Veeck was also known for his marketing and promotional skills.

He came up with a ton of creative and epic ideas, and also had some massive failures. 

We made a short list of his most memorable work:

  1. Disco Demolition Night: In July 1979, while Veeck was the owner of the Chicago White Sox, he held this promotion at Comiskey Park. The idea was to blow up a large pile of disco records in center field between games of a doubleheader. In one way it worked — the promo attracted a large crowd; but it also ended with riot police on the scene.

  2. Grandstand Managers Night: Veeck allowed fans to vote on in-game decisions, such as pitching changes and lineup substitutions, during a game between the St. Louis Browns and the Philadelphia Athletics. This interactive promotion gave fans a unique opportunity to influence the outcome of a professional baseball game. It was a huge success.

  3. Eddie Gaedel’s One-Day Career: During a game for the St. Louis Browns, Veeck sent 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel to the plate. Gaedel walked on four straight pitches, but it caused quite the uproar with the American League President Will Harridge.

  4. Free Beer and Hot Dogs: Veeck would offer free beer and hot dogs on certain days as a way to attract fans to the ballpark. As you can imagine, this was a particularly popular promotion. If a man gives you free beer and hot dogs, it's your duty as an American to show up to the ballpark.

  5. Ladies' Day: Veeck introduced the concept of Ladies' Day, offering discounted tickets and special promotions for women. This initiative not only attracted more female fans to the ballpark, but also helped establish a tradition that continues in many baseball stadiums to this day.

There were also allegations of Bill participating in a sign-stealing scandal, but that's a story for another day.

Regardless, he made a huge impact on the game.

Veeck passed away in 1986, but his legacy as a pioneering and influential figure in baseball lives on.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

TAKE A SEAT

Whether you’re trying to vibe out to some live music, or spend an afternoon at the ballpark, Seakgeek is the place to make it happen.

Just think, this could be your view.

Why can I hear Sweet Caroline when I see this picture?

Seatgeek is giving our readers 20 bucks towards their first purchase on the platform — just use code DEADLEGENDS.

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Yo Broskie, two Heinekens.

Sig, aka “Chops” didn’t play in the big leagues for long, but he made a huge impact.

In 1941, he caught for Warren Spahn on the Evansville Bees.

Broskie was very influential on Warren in those early years, and eventually he went on to become one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites: