It had been 15 years since Bill Veeck possessed the keys to Comiskey Park.
His second run with the team, though stretching more than twice as long as his initial, 1959 pennant-winning stint, was less than half as fun.
Why? Money.
The ultimate failure of Veeck’s last run with the Chicago White Sox (1975-81), indeed his last run in professional baseball, was money. Veeck never had it, and in the dawning days of his return to the White Sox, he’d desperately need it.
In 1970, Curt Flood filed suit to strike down major league baseball’s reserve clause—a win for Flood would mean some form of free agency for players.