
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 27, 1991                   TAG: 9102270272
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From Associated Press and Cox News Service reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VEECK, LAZZERI ELECTED TO HALL OF FAME

Fun-loving Bill Veeck, the maverick owner who infuriated the bosses of baseball but delighted the fans, was elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday by the veterans committee.

Also selected was power-hitting second baseman Tony Lazzeri, an integral member of Murderer's Row, the New York Yankees team that dominated baseball in the 1920s and '30s.

Veeck, remembered as one of the game's greatest promoters, and Lazzeri, who played on six championship teams during the Babe Ruth era, were selected from among 30 nominees who had survived a screening process. They will be inducted next summer with Rod Carew, Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry, who were elected last month by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Veeck, who died in 1986, owned the Cleveland Indians from 1946-50, the St. Louis Browns from 1951-1953 and twice owned the Chicago White Sox, from 1959-1961 and again from 1975-1980.

In 1948, he brought Larry Doby to the Cleveland Indians as the first black player in the American League and the Indians won the pennant and World Series that season. In 1959, he won another pennant, this time with the White Sox.

He is better remembered for his gimmicks - the exploding scoreboards to celebrate home runs, the fireworks and, probably best of all, his use of a midget as a pinch hitter.

by CNB