With the crowning of the National League champion last night and the final presidential debate, I can't help myself from blabbing about a classic baseball/politics parallel. Don't worry, this isn't going to be some cheesy string of metaphors, I have an honest-to-goodness connection that I've been thinking about since last night.
I love the study of sports history, specifically as it pertains to baseball. I'm a stats history geek, but I also love to discuss the impacts of baseball (and sports in general) on society. The whole "Joe the Plumber" schtick reminded me of something and I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then I remembered a story about the 1940s Cleveland Indians, their owner Bill Veeck, and good 'ol Joe Early. Sports and politics aren't really that different.
Oh and by the way - Obama hit the ball out of the park last night. Now that I've gotten my cheesy metaphor out of the way...
Joe Sixpack, Joe the Plumber...the Republicans really love their "common Joes" this election. At least the newest Joe is based off of a living, breathing human being (even though he's still sort of a sham figure). I guess that when you're out of touch and clueless about the American populace, nothing says "I get it" more than talking to some guy named Joe. (Even though I don't think McCain's actually met him in person yet, has he?) So you may ask, what does this have to do with a Cleveland Indians team from more than 60 years ago? That brings us to the team's owner, Bill Veeck (whose last name is pronounced like "wreck" for those of you who may not be familiar with him).
A bit of background: Veeck was considered one of the greatest showmen in baseball, who was constantly thinking of new and creative ways to make a splash or rile the establishment. He broke into baseball with the Chicago Cubs, where Veeck's dad became the president of the team in 1917. That famous ivy on Wrigley Field's outfield wall? That was Bill Veeck's idea. By the time he was just 32 years old in 1946, he led the syndicate that purchased the Cleveland Indians - his first Major League team. (Bonus points if you knew he owned the minor league Milwaukee franchise prior to the Indians) He was forced to sell the Indians in 1949 (needed to liquidate assets for a divorce), but also held ownership stakes in the St. Louis Browns (1951-1953) and the Chicago White Sox (1958-1961, 1975-1980).
Bill Veeck completely changed the face of Major League Baseball with his stunts and bold actions. Since the Indians were his first Major League team, many of these groundbreaking events took place during his short ownership tenure with the Indians. Veeck's greatest achievement (in my opinion) was the integration of the American League with Larry Doby in 1947...just 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson stepped onto a Major League field for the first time with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Joining Doby on the Indians in 1948 was legendary Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige. With these racial barriers broken, the Cleveland Indians went on to win the 1948 World Series over the Boston Braves. Veeck helped the Indians set the all-time season attendance record in 1948 (a record now shattered), and also was the father of the baseball promotion. From post-game fireworks, traveling minstrels in the grandstands and an in-park babysitting service, to orchids imported from Hawaii for women, Indians games had it all. When the Indians were unable to win the pennant in 1949, Veeck had a mock funeral for the 1948 pennant in the middle of the outfield. It was placed in a casket and literally buried in center field at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Veeck knew how to draw attention and how to draw people to a ballpark: the combination of a winning team and innovative promotions for the crowd. And that's where Joe Early comes into play.
Along with his promotions, Veeck often had "theme nights" at the ballpark designed to honor specific players and team officials. These players may get a cash gift, sometimes even a new car. (These "theme nights" were nothing new, but most of Veeck's other promotions were.) Joe Early, the night watchman at a local Chevrolet plant, wrote to the Cleveland Press while Veeck was owner to complain about the time wasted honoring already wealthy players and signed the letter "Good Old Joe Early." To be fair, these players likely did better than your average worker, but there were no modern-day $250 million contracts handed out. Many players had a second job in a factory or at a gas station after the season. Always one to look for the unique angle, Veeck decided to have a different kind of theme night in Cleveland: Joe Early Night. And on this night, Joe was the belle of the ball(park).
Veeck opted not to publicize Joe Early Night ahead of time, instead opting to keep it a protected secret. He claimed that the only notice he gave to anyone was to have one of his assistants call Joe to make sure he showed up, however Veeck said "The Press latched onto it, as might have been expected, and the publicized it. We would have lost all faith in journalistic enterprise if it hadn't." Did they really find out accidentally when the only notice was one covert phone call? Who knows...supposedly even Joe Early had no idea what was coming. What we do know is that Veeck put on quite a scene that night. Joe first received two gag gifts, a house done in "Early American architecture" (an outhouse), a Model T Ford full of pretty girls (that was designed like a clown car), and "all manner of livestock." Then they got down to business and seriously gave "Good Old Joe" a new Ford convertible and roughly a half dozen gifts: a refrigerator, washing machine, luggage, wristwatch, clothes, and console (I'm guessing radio?). Veeck said that most of the gifts were donated by local merchants, basically anything they could talk them into contributing.
This is a good quote about the spectacle:
"Joe Early became a celebrity for a time and was booked on radio and TV. The funny thing was that his luck seemed to change from that day on. The last I heard of him he had become quite successful."
(From his autobiography Veeck - As in Wreck)
The parallels were just too striking to me:
-The name Joe: apparently the "everyman" name.
-Both of these guys gained notoriety because they initially complained about something to the media/in front of the media.
-Both received/is currently receiving an inordinate amount of media attention.
-Both from a blue collar background
In both cases we have a good 'ol common man named Joe, who is celebrated, in part, because of his commonness. With the the good 'ol Joe from the debate, it's as if I'm expected to somehow feel comforted because McCain's addressing his concerns. Wow, he said some guy's name...he must really realize what I'm going through and what I need from my government! The 300 million other people that live in America can rest easy tonight because a candidate's pretending to care about some random guy. Even though "Good Old Joe" got an inordinate amount of attention from Bill Veeck, at least Veeck made sure to ship in 20,000 orchids from Hawaii to give to the women in attendance on Joe Early Night. I think we can pretty much surmise at this point what McCain thinks of women and women's issues. Also, when you become the consummate "common man" you can expect your 15 minutes of fame - you've now supposedly some type of role model of commonness!
Now granted, none of these connections involve any great insight on my part. Heck, Captain Obvious himself could have connected the dots on this one. But it's a fact that the Veeck media circus was 60 years ago at a baseball game, versus a debate for the President of the United States in a historic election. This type of schtick is something that should be reserved for a place like the ballpark, not an election where just a few of the issues include an economic crisis and two wars. Don't we as a people deserve something more than a stunt on par with a baseball game promotion? Part of me wants to argue that Bill Veeck has even had a more positive impact on society than John McCain. When it comes to issues of race, Bill Veeck integrated the American League and acknowledged the greatness of Satchel Paige, who spent most of his career trapped in a segregated league. McCain actually tried to block the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Arizona at one point.
It's also amazing to think that sixty years ago, Bill Veeck had to fight just sign an African American player for his baseball team. Now we're possibly three weeks away from electing the first African American president. It gives me a bit of hope for the future, in more ways than one!
Just in case you were curious about more info on Bill Veeck, I highly recommend his autobiography (which I got some of my information from) Veeck - As in Wreck. It was written in 1962 and obviously leaves off much of his later career, but it's still a great read. He's also famous for signing a 3' 7" tall man named Eddie Gaedel for one at bat in 1951 with the St. Louis Browns. He gave him a uniform with the number 1/8 on it because of his small size and Gaedel ended up walking on four pitches. Veeck was also the owner of the White Sox during the famed disco demolition night, although his son, Mike, came up with the idea.
(By the way, congrats to the Phillies fans and my condolences to the Dodgers fans)
Just a quick side disclaimer: I wrote most of this diary last night, not realizing the impending insanity of all of the Joe the Plumber stuff today. I almost deleted it, because I didn't want to add another to the pile - however I couldn't bring myself to do it for a couple of reasons. 1. I love any excuse to talk sports, and 2. I sincerely tried to approach this topic in a unique manner. Hopefully it adds a different dimension to the topic.