A special program tied to an exhibition of one of Major League Baseball’s biggest personalities, Bill Veeck, is scheduled for May 19 at the Arcadia Public Library, along with an author of a book about Veeck and a screening of the 30-minute movie “Veeck: A Man for Any Season.”
“VeeckFest” will feature Terry Cannon of the Pasadena-based nonprofit Baseball Reliquary introducing Paul Dickson, the author of a book being published in April, Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick. Dickson will speak from 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., followed by a panel hosted by Dickson from 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. , including sports writers John Schulian, Ron Rapoport, and Ken Solarz.
The DVD film screening, including excerpts of sound home movie footage of the Veeck from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. will be followed by a book signing from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
The Veeck exhibition will run at the Library from April 9-May 24.
Veeck was one of the most influential baseball men of the 20th century, a legendary promoter and civil rights figure who is noted as the owner who brought the midget Eddie Gaedel to the plate as a pinch-hitter in 1951 for the St. Louis Browns and who signed Larry Doby to a contract with the Cleveland Indians in 1947 as the first African-American to play in the American League. The exhibition will cover the entire life and times of Veeck through photographs, documents, artworks, and artifacts.
— By Scott Hettrick