Neal: Veeck’s next chapter has taken him across the Atlantic to a new sport

Larne is about a 30-minute drive north of Belfast, off the east coast of Northern Ireland. The population, according to the 2021 census, is just under 19,000.

Football, the game played with the round ball, not the pointy one, is spoken here. Not baseball. But this is where the next chapter of former St. Paul Saints owner Mike Veeck’s incredible sports journey is taking place.

“We are carrying it forward,” Veeck said in a phone conversation this week from his home in Charleston, S.C. “The St. Paul flag is now planted in Larne.”

Veeck, the Saint of Second Chances — that’s the name of the hit Netflix documentary on him released in 2023 — is taking a chance on European soccer.

Why Larne? Why not Larne? Veeck began his career with the Saints in 1993 in fear of the unknown, but his promotional brilliance led to busy summer nights at Midway Stadium, then CHS Field. He moved on from the Saints last season but, by the end of the year, Veeck, along with business partner Tom Whaley and Veeck’s son, William “Night Train” Veeck, purchased 25% of Larne FC, a soccer, er, football team that plays in the Northern Ireland Football League Premiership. Will Veeck have a pig bring out the ball before opening kickoff? Perhaps that should be left for Saints games. After all, he knows nothing about soccer.

“It’s surreal,” Veeck said. “I told them when I went over there to visit that I wanted to do something that really frightens me. To try something that, at the age of 72 at the time, and was something that I know absolutely nothing about was really disconcerting.

“When we, so-call, retire, you’ll see some people just quit and some people just want to, you know, play golf. But because I don’t have any hobbies, I’m trying something so out of my element.”

Night Train’s involvement drives this endeavor, as Dad wants to max out his time with his son. Night Train also operates the Joliet (Ill.) Slammers of the Frontier League, and pops is his employee. For those of you familiar with Illinois’ extensive history of politicians landing in jail, there’s a sandwich on the menu named after former governor Rod Blagojevich, who spent eight years in the slammer for corruption. The family legacy of levity will endure through Night Train.

“I made the statement in the documentary that I wanted to work for him for a year,” Veeck said. “I wanted to see if he was that good. I’m in very good hands. Much better than he was, I assure you.”

Veeck spent two weeks in Larne earlier this year to tour the city and mingle with fans. They spoke of the community before they spoke of their club, which touched him. Veeck and his wife, Libby, also attempted to enjoy the pub scene like the locals do, but eventually threw in the towel. “There are no lightweights in terms of drinking in Ireland,” he said.

Will he bring group Twister, the world’s largest pillow fight or 5 a.m. starts to Larne, like he did with the Saints? Probably not. But fans tailgate hours before kickoff like Vikings fans do, and he sees opportunities to inject his brand of fun in those moments.

What’s not out of Veeck’s element is success. And he’s joined Larne just when it has become one of lower level football’s best success stories. Businessman Kenny Bruce purchased his hometown club in 2018 when parts of its stadium had been condemned and only a handful of spectators, including girlfriends of the players and dogs, watched games. And the team was crummy.

After several million dollars sunk in to update the stadium and improve training facilities, the team began winning. Last season, Larne won its first NIFL Premiership. On Aug. 29th, Larne rallied for a 4-3 aggregate win over the Lincoln Red Imps behind a hat trick by Andrew Ryan. This is not an attempt to upend Veeck’s story with a running account of a soccer, er, football game. But Ryan’s last goal allowed Larne to advance to the next round of the Europa Conference League, in which teams from all over Europe compete in. And moving on means more money, which is vital in lower level football.

“We did some quick math,” Whaley said. “That was a $3 million goal.”

That nearly covers what the minority owners — another American businessman has purchased 25% as well — put into the team. But money isn’t the objective for Veeck. The experience is. Stepping out of his comfort zone is. In a town like Larne, football binds the community like a baseball team does here.

The game confuses him. The people don’t. They remind him of Saints fans.

“There’s wonderful similarities,” Veeck said. “And that’s not my usual embellishment. That’s factual for a change, coming from me.”