ST. LOUIS -- To be a fan of the St. Louis Browns in the 1950s with owner Bill Veeck's wild gimmicks in full force must have been a heck of a time.
You may have heard about the time he hired Eddie Gaedel. On Aug. 19, 1951, the 3-foot, 7-inch man took a walk on four pitches in his only MLB appearance. He was the shortest player in the history of the game.
But have you also heard of another game that took place five days later? It was 70 years ago today, Aug. 24 was "Grandstand Managers Night." That night 1,115 fans who were seated in a certain section were given signs that read "YES" and "NO." They were asked to decide what to do in some key moments of the game.
The Browns hosted the Philadelphia Athletics and its manager, Jimmy Dykes, said Veeck was "making a farce of the game." But maybe he only said that because he was disappointed after his team lost, 5-3.
His counterpart on the Browns, manager Zack Taylor, relaxed in a rocking chair next to the dugout while wearing casual clothing and smoked on his pipe throughout the game.
The fans' short managerial careers began before the game started as they wrote their choices on lineup cards before the game that were delivered to the Browns management. After tallying all the responses, a lineup was set.
Browns starting pitcher Ned Garver gave up three runs in the first inning. Fans were asked "SHALL WE YANK HIM?" and they responded with mostly "NO" signs. He didn't allow another run and "Little Ned" earned his 15th victory of the season.
One gimmick that didn't fly was when two fans were given team uniforms and were planning to be used as the first and third base coaches throughout the game. But League President Will Harridge didn't permit Veeck to do it because the fans' contract hadn't been approved before the game. Instead, Charles E. Hughes and Clark Mitze were given trophies that proclaimed they as "the best coaches ever banned from the coaching lines," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's game story from 1951.
Veeck was not only happy with the win, but another wacky, yet successful promotion on his part.
"The fan comes away from the ball park with nothing more to show for it than what’s in his mind, an ephemeral feeling of having been entertained. You’ve got to heighten and preserve that illusion. You have to give him more vivid pictures to carry away in his head."
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