Bill Veeck has changed the promotional game for sports entertainment. He had fun new ways to get people interested in his team. One of these promotions he used is called, "Grandstand Manager's Day". During one of the games when he was with the Cleveland Browns on August 24th, 1951, Veeck decided to let a portion of the fans decide how the team should play certain scenarios. He gave the fans signs that said 'yes' on one side and 'no' on the other. The publicity director held up signs that read steal, bunt or change pitchers and then the "manager's" would flash their response of 'yes' or 'no'. The Browns won the game 5-3 which snapped a four game losing streak.
This stunt worked because it got people involved in the game. The team was doing poorly that season and attendance had dropped so any way to intruige fans to come wouldn't have hurt . The "manager's" felt as if they were a big part of the game and the feeling that they could change the outcome of it increased their participation. As a baseball fan myself I think this would be a fun idea for a manager to do these days. I don't see it happening any time soon. There is to much money in the game to let fans call the shots.
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| Another stunt by Veeck: A 3 ft. 7 in. batter |
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