Interview with William Louis "Bill" Veeck, February 23, 1977

Interview Summary

William "Bill" L. Veeck was from Chicago, IL. He was a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He is the former owner of the Cleveland Indians. In this interview, he discusses Chandler's election as baseball commissioner, comparing Chandler to his predecessor Judge Kennesaw Landis. He talks about Chandler's reputation as being "Friend of the Athlete", and how this was part of his undoing as commissioner, also describing the first player's pension plan, Robert Murphy's attempt to organize a players' union, Chandler's relationship with team owners, and his own (Veeck's) disagreement with Chandler over radio broadcast rights. He talks about Muddy Ruel, Chandler's role in the integration of major league baseball, his (Veeck's) attempt in 1942 to field an all-black team, Larry Doby as Cleveland's first black player, the team owners' resistance to integration, Chandler's attitude toward gambling, and his own disagreement with Chandler over ticket distribution, as well as Chandler's decisions as commissioner. Other topics include Leslie O'Connor and the Zoederman lawsuit, and the owners' meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Interview Keyword

Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Baseball Commissioner Baseball

Interview LC Subject

Baseball--United States Chandler, Happy, 1898-1991 Veeck, Bill Veeck, Bill--Interviews

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.