| Membership level: Hall of Fame Bill Veeck Inductee Year 2001 |  |
| The legendary Bill Veeck, a towering figure in professional baseball ownership, grew up in Hinsdale at Park and Seventh Streets and called Hinsdale his home, as did his parents before him, until Bill was well into his 20's. He attended the old Garfield grammar school for all eight grades and then three different secondary schools, including three semesters at Hinsdale High School where he played several team sports. He left college in the middle of his sophomore year to become an office boy for the Chicago Cubs. His first wife was a Hinsdale native. He attended the 50th reunion of his high school class in 1982. During his colorful career he owned four different professional teams including the White Sox twice (1959-1961, 1975-1980), and a list of his baseball "firsts" is stunning and well-documented in several biographies and his own best selling autobiography. Mr. Veeck, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was a voracious reader and largely self-educated. His death left behind his wonderful second wife, Mary Frances, nine children, and many nieces and nephews including John and Fred Krehbiel, the latter of whom has lived in Hinsdale his entire life. Mr. Veeck is being honored posthumously. | |
