Bill Veeck was one of baseball’s great innovators, marketers, and masters of publicity stunts — those with a serious purpose, such as assembling the first racially integrated roster in American League history, and those absurd, such as Disco Demolition Night or signing 3’6″ Eddie Gaedel for a pinch-hit appearance.

In August 1951, desperate for attendance days after the Gaedel stunt and and exasperated with fans thinking they could do better, Veeck decided to give them what every backseat driver in the stands has ever wanted:

Veeck orchestrated “Grandstand Managers Night,” a promotion which allowed fans to vote on key decisions during the course of the game, using placards which read “yes” or “no.” Over 1,000 “grandstand managers” sat in a special section behind the Browns dugout, while Browns manager Zack Taylor relaxed in a rocking chair in the next box over, in casual clothing and a pipe in his mouth, as he enjoyed his night off. The fans began their short-lived managerial careers by deciding the lineup of the game. They wrote their choices on lineup cards, delivered to the Browns prior to the game. After tallying fan responses, a lineup was decided on . . .

They ruled for the Browns infield to play back and try for a double play when there were two men on base for the Athletics – and Pete Suder hit into a double play to end the inning. They also advised catcher Sherm Lollar not to attempt a steal from first base to second, due to his slow speed. Lollar would drive in two runs that game.

The Browns won that night against another losing team, but the experiment was not repeated. Managers are still needed to run a ballclub day-to-day, just as political leaders are needed. As James Madison put it, “In all very numerous assemblies, of whatever character composed, passion never fails to wrest the sceptre from reason. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.”