# Bill Veeck Innovations **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [April 19, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401 "2026-04-19T18:44:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/1 "2026-04-19T18:44:15Z")
Bill Veeck introduced several innovations while he owned the White Sox. To name a few: the exploding scoreboard, a shower in the left field stands, compressed air home plate cleaner, a ball basket for umpires, etc. I can’t seem to find a comprehensive list of all of them. Anyone know of such a list? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/2 "2026-04-19T18:54:48Z")
Have you read his autobiography, _Veeck as in Wreck_? He also wrote _30 Tons A Day_ about his time running the Suffolk Downs racetrack. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/3 "2026-04-19T18:59:36Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Have you read his autobiography, _Veeck as in Wreck_? I used to own that, got it from my Dad. It was a good read, but I read it in the 80s. I recall it being humorous and informative. Also as this is about Baseball, off to the #The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/4 "2026-04-19T19:01:00Z")
Yes, both books were good reads. If my TBR pile weren’t already out of control I’d get them from the library. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/5 "2026-04-19T19:16:28Z")
I just picked up “Our Team” by Luke Epplin, which follows the 1947-49 Cleveland Indians from the integration of the American League through their World Series championship. It focuses on Veeck, Larry Doby, Bob Feller and Satchel Paige. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/6 "2026-04-19T21:19:41Z")
He had a lot of good ideas. 10-cent beer night was not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/7 "2026-04-19T22:53:13Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > 10-cent beer night was not one of them. Was Veeck involved in that promotion? IIRC, that was in Cleveland, in 1974. I don’t think Veeck was part of that franchise at that time. Veeck had disco demolition night a few years later when he was owner of the White Sox, which also resulted in a forfeiture by the home team, ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/8 "2026-04-19T23:24:17Z")
Wasn’t he also the one who signed a two-foot-tall player, so the pitchers wouldn’t be able to hit his strike zone? ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/9 "2026-04-19T23:34:44Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Was Veeck involved in that promotion? IIRC, that was in Cleveland, in 1974. I don’t think Veeck was part of that franchise at that time. You are correct. Although he was involved in other beer giveaways. Per Wikipedia: “While Veeck’s promotions were generally successful in drawing crowds, later iterations of cheap beer events in baseball, such as the infamous **“10 Cent Beer Night”** with the Cleveland Indians in **1974** , resulted in chaos and forfeits, contrasting with Veeck’s more controlled giveaways.” ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/10 "2026-04-19T23:37:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wasn’t he also the one who signed a two-foot-tall player The man’s name was Eddie Gaedel, and he was 3 feet 7 inches tall. He batted once and walked on four pitches. > **[The Peculiar Professional Baseball Career of Eddie Gaedel – Society for...](https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-peculiar-professional-baseball-career-of-eddie-gaedel/)** ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/11 "2026-04-20T00:14:08Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > Wasn’t he also the one who signed a two-foot-tall player > > The man’s name was Eddie Gaedel, and he was 3 feet 7 inches tall. He batted once and walked on four pitches. > > [The Peculiar Professional Baseball Career of Eddie Gaedel – Society for American Baseball Research](https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-peculiar-professional-baseball-career-of-eddie-gaedel/) Unknown if it was apocryphal or not but supposedly Veeck told Eddie he had snipers aiming at him to shoot if he swung at a pitch. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/12 "2026-04-20T06:42:30Z")
> [@19USMC69](#): > > a shower in the left field stands For what? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/13 "2026-04-20T13:14:41Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > > [@19USMC69](#): > > > > a shower in the left field stands > > For what? Showering. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/14 "2026-04-20T14:48:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Unknown if it was apocryphal or not but supposedly Veeck told Eddie he had snipers aiming at him to shoot if he swung at a pitch. It’s been a long time since I read “Veeck as in Wreck” but ISTR Veeck himself made that claim in the book. That doesn’t mean it was true of course. Bill Veeck had a way of embellishing a story exceeded only by my dear, departed grandfather. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/15 "2026-04-20T16:20:28Z")
For three games in 1976, Veeck had his White Sox playing in shorts. [Starting Nine: Short Stops | Baseball Hall of Fame](https://baseballhall.org/discover/starting-nine-chicago-white-sox) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-veeck-innovations/1029401/16 "2026-04-20T19:05:37Z")
And they wore the shorts in at least one official team photo. [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/SewAAOSwA3dYXaj5/s-l1600.webp) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/SewAAOSwA3dYXaj5/s-l1600.webp)