Veeck As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck

by Bill Veeck, Ed Linn

Overview

Bill Veeck was an inspired team builder, a consummate showman, and one of the greatest baseball men ever involved in the game. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226027210
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	05/24/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Bill Veeck (William Louis Veeck, Jr.) (1914-1986) learned the baseball business from the ground up at Wrigley Field when his father was at first general manager and then president of the Chicago Cubs. Bill went on to become the owner of the Cleveland Indians, the St. Louis Browns, and the Chicago White Sox-twice. In 1991, Veeck was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ed Linn (1922-2000), a well respected sports-writer, was the author of 17 books, including Hitter: The Life and Turmoils of Ted Williams, Nice Guys Finish Last, and Where the Money Is.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Bob Verdi

1. A Can of Beer, a Slice of Cake—and Thou, Eddie Gaedel

2. A Man of Dignity

3. The Battle of Wrigley Field

4. The First Fine Careless Rapture of Milwaukee

5. A Universal-International Production

6. Dinner with Boudreau

7. Every Day Was Mardi Gras...

8. ...and Every Fan Was King

9. One $200,000 Dog for Two $100,000 Cats

10. The Name of the Game is Gamesmanship

11. It Only Takes One Leg to Walk Away

12. Leroy Had Been There Before

13. An Epitaph for Harry Grabiner

14. The Jolly Set

15. I'm from Missouri—Momentarily

16. The Greatest Right-handed Hitter of All Time

17. The Asterisk King

18. A Warm Spiritual Message from the Del E. Webb Corp.

19. Right Between the Shoulder Blades

20. A Night at Toots Shor's

21. Dynasties Are for the Dinosaurs

22. Chuck Comiskey and the National Debt

23. The South Side Shall Rise Again

24. How We Bought the Minor Leagues Back to Los Angeles

25. I'm Not Handicapped; I'm Crippled

Afterword by Ed Linn

Editorial Reviews

“Folksy, self-deprecating, outrageous, and famously one-legged, Veeck was a burr in the bottom of major-league owners whose pockets were as deep as their hands were short. . . . Reading about Veeck reminds us that baseball is a wonderful game, nothing more, nothing less. And without a doubt, Veeck as in Wreck still stands as the most enjoyable, funny, brassy, pointed, and outrageous baseball book ever printed.”

— Chicago Tribune

“One of baseball’s most famous—and outspoken—owners tells his story in Veeck—as in Wreck. Veeck recounts his many years with the Cleveland Browns and Chicago White Sox, among other teams, and the friends and enemies he made along the way.”

— New York Times

From the Publisher