William Louis “Bill” Veeck, Jr., also known as “Sport Shirt Bill”, (1914–86) was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox. As owner and team president of the Indians in 1947, Veeck signed Larry Doby, thus beginning the integration of the American League. Veeck was the last owner to purchase a baseball franchise without an independent fortune, and is responsible for many innovations and contributions to baseball.
Source: Wikipedia (via CC-BY-SA license) • READ: Works by Bill Veeck
That’s the true harbinger of spring, not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano, but the sound of a bat on the ball.
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Baseball
Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don’t make.
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Silver Linings, Blessings
Baseball is the only game left for people. To play basketball, you have to be 7 feet 6 inches. To play football, you have to be the same width.
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Baseball
I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Baseball
I do not think that winning is the most important thing. I think winning is the only thing.
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Victory
Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can’t get you off.
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Baseball
This is a game to be savored, not gulped. There’s time to discuss everything between pitches or between innings.
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Baseball
How can you be a sage if you’re pretty? You can’t get your wizard papers without wrinkles.
—Bill Veeck
Topics: Wisdom
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Frank Lane American Sportsperson
Yogi Berra American Sportsperson
Michael Jordan American Sportsperson
Babe Ruth American Baseball Player
Casey Stengel American Sportsperson
Ted Williams American Sportsperson
Johnny Bench American Sportsperson
Mike Ditka American Sportsperson
John Wooden American Sportsperson
Tommy Prothro American Football Coach