Sport: TWO FOR THE SHOW

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Other owners have been complaining for years about Veeck's undignified approach to the game, while busily adopting his zany promotional stunts. It was he who first dotted the baseball calendar with Bat Days, Ladies Days, Bartender Days, Cab Driver Days, Gourmet Days, and Name's the Same Days (everyone with the same name as a member of the team gets in for free). He was the first to install an explosive Scoreboard, stage milking contests and have mock invasions from outer space. His most memorable stunt was sending a midget to pinch hit for St. Louis wearing the number1/8 (he walked on four pitches). Veeck's credo: "We are in the entertainment business. The important thing is the relationship between the fan and the game."

Veeck is the ultimate innovator, yet no one is more of a traditionalist. The son of a sportswriter who later ran the Chicago Cubs, he has spent most of his life around ballparks. "Baseball is a game with a long tradition," he says. "A father takes his son or daughter and they in turn take a son or daughter. It is important that tradition not be lost." But long before other owners realized it—and some still do not—Veeck saw that baseball's tradition was meaningless if its fans did not enjoy themselves. The last time Veeck came to Chicago was in 1959, and the White Sox set attendance records and won their first pennant in 40 years. Now he is back, attendance is soaring and ... who knows?