Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Damn Yankees
Page 73
and suburbia were quickly transforming the 48 states into a smaller, reachable and more affordable society. Emerging markets around the country bloomed like blue chip prospects, making pitches to bring major league baseball to town. The owners initially paid lip service yet remained content, even as their aging ballparks became more engulfed by accelerated inner-city decay.
During the winter of 1953, two owners seriously took heed to what the new frontier had to offer. Bill Veeck, who presided over a wildly successful yet brief reign at Cleveland, was now
having the most difficult mission of his baseball life; convincing people to see his latest asset, the sad-sack St. Louis Browns, in a city where only the Cardinals were considered real baseball entertainment. Meanwhile in Boston, Lou Perini had witnessed a stunning fall from grace for his Braves. In four
years, the team deteriorated from National League champions to distant second division material, and its attendance plunged even worse, from 1.5 million to a scant 280,000. Competing head on with the prestigious Red Sox was a task Perini wanted nothing more to do with.
Over their last five years in Boston before relocating to
Milwaukee, the Braves completed an intense downward spiral that