Interview with St.Louis Cardinals Owner Bill DeWitt, Jr

Bill DeWitt, Jr., is the chairman of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals have won two World Series Championships under his leadership; tonight, they’re playing their first game of the 2013 post-season. Mr. DeWitt recently spoke with PARADE about the Cardinals and his family.

What is the best part of owning a MLB franchise?

I enjoy the everyday challenge of keeping the Cardinals a premier franchise. We do everything to maintain and enhance the franchise.

What is your favorite part of Busch Stadium?

I love the entire atmosphere and being at the ballpark in general. My father, Bill Sr., took me to ball games at Sportsman’s Park, and I just love the ballpark.

Why was Tony LaRussa such a great manager?

Tony possessed all the characteristics of greatness from the very first day of his tenure. He knew how to motivate the young athletes. He was an innovator. He developed the idea of a set-up man and a closer. Tony was also at the forefront of pitcher/hitter match-ups in late-inning situations. Additionally, he was very smart due to his legal background. His analytical abilities and his comprehension of the game far exceeded all his predecessors.

Do you collect or own any vintage Cardinals memorabilia?

Yes, I have a few things. Many significant and historical vintage items from the Cardinals organization will be publicly displayed at Ballpark Village, which is opening in 2014. Ballpark Village is a mixed-use retail and residential district that is situated on 10 acres just north of Busch Stadium. Many one-of-a-kind pieces of Cardinals memorabilia will be showcased at Ballpark Village. Some highlights include: A pristine home jersey of Dizzy Dean, and a 1926 World Series Grover Cleveland uniform.

A young Bill DeWitt, Jr. meets Babe Ruth.

Do you have long-term plans for the Cardinals to stay in the DeWitt family?

Yes, we plan to keep the Cardinals in the DeWitt family for future generations. My son, Bill III, is the President and is fully engaged.

Who was the greatest ballplayer you’ve ever watched play ball?

I saw Mantle, Mays, Musial, and many more in their prime. However, Stan Musial was the all-time greatest to play the game on the field and off the field. (Musial was a great ambassador for the game of baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals.)

Everybody has a mentor at one time in their life. Who was your mentor, and what did you learn from him?

My father, Bill Sr., was my mentor. He owned the Cincinnati Reds in the 1960s and I saw how he was able to be successful. I learned a lot about scouting and player development from my father. My father was such an interesting man. In 1916, he was looking for a job and got hired selling concessions at the ballpark. The legendary Branch Rickey [the baseball owner who signed Jackie Robinson] became a mentor to my father and encouraged him to finish his education. Branch trained my dad into the great success that he was.

My thanks to Bill DeWitt for his time and invaluable knowledge

What's It Like To Work For The Chicago White Sox?

William “Night Train” Veeck—known as “Train” to his friends—is the grandson of Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Veeck. Bill was a promoter of Major League Baseball and also had ownership interests in the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Browns, and Cleveland Indians. I spoke with Train about his grandfather and his own work in baseball, working for the White Sox.

What was it like growing up in a baseball family? Besides your grandfather, your father Mike has ownership interests in several minor league teams?

Dinner table conversations were lots of fun. I learned a lot about the marketing strategies and front office operations. I started working at the ballpark when I was five years old. I would fill up sodas, and roll up hot dogs into aluminum foil. I even had a tip jar for people whom appreciated my hard work.

Why are you following the Veeck legacy and working in baseball?

I love baseball. It’s everything I have known and worked for. A very humbling experience for me is walking through the gates before a home game and knowing that the legacy in my family is still going strong. I am part of an organization that has done a lot for me and my family.

Your grandfather famously had a little person, Eddie Gaedel, pinch hit in a baseball game.

Yes, everybody knows the story. His jersey resides in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Many years ago, my sister held up the jersey and the experience was very enchanting.

What’s your primary job with the White Sox?

Group sales of 20 or more people. My favorite area of the ballpark is the patio in right field, which is run by the Bertucci Boys. For a fixed price, you have unlimited beer and the best food in Major League Baseball. The price also includes a game ticket. This is something to experience if you haven’t already done so.

Whether the Sox win or lose, how do you make sure the fans leave happy?

I can’t control the wins or losses, so we focus on customer service and customer engagement. Is the beer cold?  Hot dog hot? Being at the ballpark allows you to get away from work life for a few hours, so we need to make sure you are being taken care of.

The main goal for any ball club is to fill the seats. How is social media helping you do this?

We opened a social media lounge in June. Fans can stop in and charge their phones. They can congregate to interact both online and offline to work collaboratively. Via social media, we can respond to customer service inquiries. For example, if we have game issues or any information we need to disseminate to fans, we can do so in real-time. We also upgrade fans’ seats and sometimes bring free food to people who are engaging with us on Twitter.

Train Veeck with Michael Osacky.

What’s the biggest difference between working with the White Sox and working with a minor league team like the Charleston River Dogs?

Mobility of ideas. Ideas get out quicker in the minors. There’s a different mindset. We can get a little more “wild” in the minors. In MLB, people pay lots of money for a season ticket, so you don’t want to belittle the experience.

When the game ends, what is your wish for every fan exiting the building?

Make sure everybody had fun

Top Reasons Why Sportscards & Memorabilia Collections Are Liquidated

People frequently ask me why anyone would want to sell family heirlooms like vintage sports cards and memorabilia collections. I’ve found that very few people want to sell but they are forced to sell, often for the following reasons.

1. Death
When a person passes, the government has a vested interest in this person’s estate. If you do not have a living trust, the estate will end up in probate court. Probate court specializes in the administration of estates. A large percent of the total proceeds from the estate will be paid to the government. If a sports memorabilia collection is part of the estate, it will probably be sold to pay off any debts from the estate. Additionally, the representative from the estate may have no interest in the collection and would rather liquidate.

2. Divorce
When a couple gets divorced, a judge could force one to sell a collection to pay for alimony, child-support, or legal bills, etc. The memorabilia collection can often be the last thing one would want to part with since it likely took several years to amass and is a treasured possession.

3. Economic
The current economic recession has unearthed many unique vintage sports cards and memorabilia. These family heirlooms hold a strong sentimental connection to the families. However, when the breadwinner of the family loses his or her job and remains unemployed for an extended period of time, he or she must find a way to pay the bills. When forced with the tough decision of foreclosure, the decision to sell the sports memorabilia collection is a little easier.

4. Paying for College Tuition
It is no secret that college tuition is very expensive. Scholarships for superior athletes or exceptional geniuses are the exception to the norm. The ability to pay for room and board is not easy in this recession. Therefore, many families have decided to sell collectibles and finance their child’s education.

Very few people want to sell their prized memorabilia collection.  However, many people need to liquidate for the reasons listed above.  One of the benefits of liquidating is the opportunity for the buyer to seek enjoyment in the collection and be able to share all of the happiness just like the previous owner.

If you want to add others, please do so in the comments section.

Baseball Secrets of the Wrigley Field Dumpsters

Dumpster diving, antiquing, picking—whatever you call it, it’s something that many of us do each spring/summer as the weather breaks and the rain gives way to rising temperatures and sunny skies. One could argue that “antiquing” is a national pastime, as the majority of Americans have visited a garage sale, purchased an item from an antique store off the highway, or perhaps walked one of the numerous flea markets in the area. TV shows like American Pickers get us excited to see what treasures are still buried in attics, garages, and barns.

I recently met with a woman, Sarah, who told me that she started “picking” before television was even around. Sarah was born and raised in Chicago and was a huge Chicago Cubs fan. She lived close to Wrigley Field and even though she didn’t always have money to purchase a ticket to the ballgame, she would frequent the area just to share in the excitement of thousands of fans cheering on their team to victory.

One late afternoon during the hot summer of 1962, Sarah was walking down Waveland Ave. and noticed several items being tossed into the dumpsters. She stopped and asked the security guards what was being thrown away. The guards didn’t know or care; it was trash. Sarah started to befriend the guards, and after about 15-20 minutes of chatting, she asked if she could “dumpster dive” and see what was inside.

The security guards laughed and then let her climb into the dumpsters. At the very top of the pile were two large and heavy albums. Sarah didn’t open the albums to see what was inside, but she figured they could be something good. Reluctantly, the security guards allowed her to take them with her.

When Sarah got home, she quickly realized that the albums were old scouting reports filled out by the Cubs’ advance scouting teams. Advance scouts are paid to scout the opponents to try and gain the upper hand during a live ball game. It’s always important to know how your competition is hitting, fielding, pitching, and stealing bases. The scouts “rate” every weakness and strength for each player and document the findings in albums.

So Sarah found a very interesting piece of sports memorabilia and something that she has treasured for decades. But good luck trying to scale the fence at Wrigley Field today—let alone persuade the security guards to let you leave with anything!

Hidden Treasures of a Championship Chicago Bulls Collection

As I travel across the country visiting with individuals and appraising collections, there’s always something different and unique that catches my eye. Recently, after I appeared on a radio show, I received a phone call from a woman who lived very close to where I grew up and attended high school. Her uncle was a former Chicago Bulls player during the ’90s and had received six of the championship rings that come with winning an NBA championship. The family wanted to know how much each item was valued at.

I spent an entire Saturday going through item after item, and putting a price tag on everything from a Michael Jordan signed rookie card to a gold and diamond pennant that was presented to the wives/girlfriends of the players after they won the NBA championship in 1996.

Many of the items were unique and were only obtained through the Bulls organization. Game-worn shoes, team-autographed banners, and expensive jewelry kept me on my toes throughout the process. In a few rare instances, I wasn’t immediately sure of the approximate value, so I put those items to the side and kept digging for more. As I worked, different members of the family would walk in and explain various pieces. The stories were endless. I could have stayed in the house for weeks on end, just listening to the incredible stories of what it was like to be part of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.

Darkness began to settle in and my time with the collection and the family was nearing its end. I asked the family what they found to be the most enjoyable part of the day. Their response? “Seeing you smile from ear to ear throughout the day.”

In Search of Sports Cards: Getting the Collecting Bug from Dad

Fathers teach us a lot growing up, and for one gentleman I met recently, collecting runs in the family.

Not long ago, I received a call from a guy with the name of Michael. (It’s always enjoyable to speak with someone who shares my first name.) Michael was a collector of many things.

Michael’s father collected jazz 78s, and was well known in the music circuit. He passed along the collecting “bug” to his son, who started collecting scrap metal on the streets on his neighborhood. Shortly thereafter, Michael’s aunt purchased a Miami Dolphins football helmet and gave it to Michael. Even though Michael was living in Illinois, he quickly became a Dolphins fan. Playing football as a youth, Michael’s nickname was “Czonka,” after the great Hall of Fame fullback for the Miami Dolphins. For the young football fan, football cards became the next great obsession.

As kids, we don’t always make the wisest decisions, but that’s part of growing up. We learn from our mistakes.  Michael’s father purchased a shoebox of baseball cards from the 1970s. One day when Michael was headed to a friend’s house to show off the collection, it started raining and Michael moved some of the more valuable cards inside his t-shirt so they would be shielded from the rain. Unfortunately, the rain was too strong that day and the cards—including a 1971 Topps Pete Rose—were badly damaged.

When I first met Michael, I wasn’t expecting four large boxes of vintage baseball and football cards. The boxes were being stored in his daughter’s closet and Michael and his wife needed the storage space, as he was expecting another baby. Paul, Michael’s dad, had recently passed away, and it felt like it was time to sell the collection.

It was exciting to go through each box and see what I could unearth. The first box contained Roberto Clemente’s rookie card. This was very exciting, but upon closer inspection, not only was the card heavily worn, but somebody had used a blue ballpoint pen to deface the front. In fact, there were hundreds of cards that had a large “X” on either the front or the back. On the plus side, some of the earliest cards were from the 1933 Goudey baseball card set. The ’33 Goudey set is a favorite of mine due to the numerous Hall of Famers included.

I purchased the entire collection. As sad as it was for Michael to sell it, he knows it’s going to a good home—one that will keep the memories alive.

Dinner with the voice of the Chicago Bulls, Chuck Swirsky

Michael Osacky (left) Chuck Swirsky (right)

The average person switches careers about four times during their lifetime. The voice of the Chicago Bulls, Chuck Swirsky, knew he wanted to be a broadcaster at the age of five, and has never deviated from that path. Swirsky can recall with great detail the summer evening when he was five years old attending his first baseball game. He can go into detail regarding the green and red uniforms and proudly states, “It was the crack of the bat that got me hooked.”

Swirsky was born in Virginia to a schoolteacher mom and a naval officer father. His family was hard-working, but not into sports. Chuck learned how to dribble a basketball in the gym at his mother’s school. But he was cut from every team he tried out for with the exception of the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) league.

When Chuck was 12, his father passed away. Chuck describes his father as a man of integrity and character. He remembers his mom working three jobs just to keep a roof overhead and food on the table. There was no entitlement. If you wanted something, you had to work for it.

So that same year, 12-year-old Chuck walked into the radio station KFKF in Bellevue, Washington. He asked the receptionist for a job, and she called the General Manager to assist. The GM put Chuck to work polishing records for the sports director, Bill O’Mara. He told Chuck that when he turned 14, Chuck would go live on air.

O’Mara was true to his word. When he turned 14, Chuck got his big break, and his world turned upside down. He belted out halftime-show broadcasts of basketball and football games with all the enthusiasm he could muster. Persistence will get you as far as you want to go.

Chuck’s uncle knew Vince Bagli, a sports director in Baltimore, Maryland who made the connection for Chuck to learn radio. Every year starting at the age of 12, Chuck would spend the summer in Baltimore learning from Vince. Vince then introduced Chuck to Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who was the play-by-play voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 years. In high school, Chuck would frequently sleep with a transistor radio tucked underneath his pillow so he could listen to ballgames and memorize statistics.

Chuck’s dream was to be an NBA broadcaster. His ultimate goal came true when the Toronto Raptors hired him away from the University of Michigan in 1998. In 2008, after calling Raptors’ game for ten years, Chuck went on to be the radio announcer for the Chicago Bulls.  In 2010 Swirsky was included into the Top 10 list of NBA broadcasters by the Bleacher Report.

Chuck currently mentors young children who also want to pursue the career of broadcasting. “The goal is to inspire people to reach for the stars,” he remarks, “because as a kid, it is tough.”

“If I was twelve years old and my dream was to be the voice of the Chicago Bulls, what advice would you provide?” I ask.

“Give me what you got every day with a great attitude,” Chuck replies. “Bring it in the classroom, at home, and with your peers. You can make it if you work at it.” You better take care of your homework, because if you do not, somebody will.” Blues singer Dick Mackey gave that advice to Chuck once, and it clearly stuck. May 15, 2013 was the final game for the Chicago Bulls during the 2012-2013 season.  On May 16, Chuck was back at work getting ready for the 2013-2014 seaso

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