Chicago White Sox

Batting practice at Comiskey Park in 1986

The St. Paul Saints first played their games at Lexington Park.[45] When they moved to Chicago's Armour Square neighborhood, they began play at the South Side Park. Previously a cricket ground, the park was located on the north side of 39th Street (now called Pershing Road) between South Wentworth and South Princeton Avenues.[46] Its massive dimensions yielded few home runs, which was to the advantage of the White Sox's Hitless Wonders teams of the early 20th century.[47]

After the 1909 season, the Sox moved five blocks to the north to play in the new Comiskey Park, while the 39th Street grounds became the home of the Chicago American Giants of the Negro leagues. Billed as the Baseball Palace of the World, it originally held 28,000 seats and eventually grew to hold over 50,000.[48] It became known for its many odd features, such as the outdoor shower and the exploding scoreboard. When it closed after the 1990 season, it was the oldest ballpark still in Major League Baseball.

The White Sox have held spring training in:[49]

On November 19, 2007, the cities of Glendale and Phoenix, Arizona, broke ground on the Cactus League's newest spring-training facility. Camelback Ranch, the $76 million, two-team facility is the new home of both the White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers for their spring training. Aside from state-of-the-art baseball facilities at the 10,000-seat stadium, the location includes residential, restaurant, and retail development, a four-star hotel, and an 18-hole golf course. Other amenities include 118,000 sq ft (11,000 m²) of major and minor league clubhouses for the two teams, four major league practice fields, eight minor league practice fields, two practice infields, and parking to accommodate 5,000 vehicles.[51]

The White Sox were originally known as the White Stockings, a reference to the original name of the Chicago Cubs.[52] To fit the name in headlines, local newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune abbreviated the name alternatively to Stox and Sox.[53] Charles Comiskey would officially adopt the White Sox nickname in the club's first years, making them the first team to officially use the "Sox" name. The Chicago White Sox are most prominently nicknamed "the South Siders", based on their particular district within Chicago. Other nicknames include the synonymous "Pale Hose";[54] "the ChiSox", a combination of "Chicago" and "Sox", used mostly by the national media to differentiate them between the Boston Red Sox (BoSox); and "the Good Guys", a reference to the team's one-time motto "Good guys wear black", coined by broadcaster Ken Harrelson. Most fans and Chicago media refer to the team as simply "the Sox". The Spanish language media sometimes refer to the team as Medias Blancas for "White Socks."

Several individual White Sox teams have received nicknames over the years:

• The 1906 team was known as the Hitless Wonders due to their .230 batting average, worst in the American League.[55] Despite their hitting woes, the Sox would beat the crosstown Cubs for their first world title.
• The 1919 White Sox are known as the Black Sox after eight players were banned from baseball for fixing the 1919 World Series.
• The 1959 White Sox were referred to as the Go-Go White Sox due to their speed-based offense. The period from 1950 to 1964, in which the White Sox had 15 consecutive winning seasons, is sometimes referred to as the Go-Go era.[56]
• The 1977 team was known as the South Side Hitmen as they contended for the division title after finishing last the year before.
• The 1983 White Sox became known as the Winning Ugly White Sox in response to Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader's derisive comments that the White Sox "...weren't playing well. They're winning ugly."[57] The Sox went on to win the 1983 American League West division on September 17.

Southpaw

From 1961 until 1991, lifelong Chicago resident Andrew Rozdilsky performed as the unofficial yet popular mascot "Andy the Clown" for the White Sox at the original Comiskey Park. Known for his elongated "Come on you White Sox" battle cry, Andy got his start after a group of friends invited him to a Sox game in 1960, where he decided to wear his clown costume and entertain fans in his section. That response was so positive that when he won free 1961 season tickets, he decided to wear his costume to all games.[58] Comiskey Park ushers eventually offered free admission to Rozdilsky.[59] Starting in 1981, the new ownership group led by Jerry Reinsdorf introduced a twosome, called Ribbie and Roobarb, as the official team mascots, and banned Rozdilsky from performing in the lower seating level. Ribbie and Roobarb were very unpopular, as they were seen as an attempt to get rid of the beloved Andy the Clown.[60]

In 1988, the Sox got rid of Ribbie and Roobarb, and Andy The Clown was not permitted to perform in new Comiskey Park when it opened in 1991. In the early 1990s, the White Sox had a cartoon mascot named Waldo the White Sox Wolf that advertised the "Silver and Black Pack", the team's kids' club at the time. The team's current mascot, SouthPaw, was introduced in 2004 to attract young fans.[1][61]

Nancy Faust became the White Sox organist in 1970, a position she held for 40 years.[62] She was one of the first ballpark organists to play pop music, and became known for her songs playing on the names of opposing players (such as Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for Pete Incaviglia).[63] Her many years with the White Sox established her as one of the last great stadium organists. Since 2011, Lori Moreland has served as the White Sox organist.[64]

Similar to the Boston Red Sox with "Sweet Caroline" (and two songs named "Tessie"), and the New York Yankees with "Theme from New York, New York", several songs have become associated with the White Sox over the years. They include:

• "Let's Go Go Go White Sox" by Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers – A tribute to the "Go-Go White Sox" of the late 1950s, this song serves as the unofficial fight song of the White Sox. In 2005, scoreboard operator Jeff Szynal found a record of the song and played it for a "Turn Back the Clock" game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom the Sox played in the 1959 World Series.[65] After catcher A. J. Pierzynski hit a walk-off home run, they kept the song around, as the White Sox went on to win the 2005 World Series.
• "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam – Organist Nancy Faust played this song during the 1977 pennant race when a Kansas City Royals pitcher was pulled, and it became an immediate hit with White Sox fans.[63] Faust is credited with making the song a stadium anthem and saving it from obscurity. To this day, the song remains closely associated with the White Sox, who play it when the team forces a pitching change, and occasionally on Sox home runs and victories.[66]
• "Sweet Home Chicago" – The Blues Brothers version of this Robert Johnson blues standard is played after White Sox games conclude.
• "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC – One of the most prominent songs for the White Sox player introductions, the hit song by AC/DC formed its bond with the team in 2005 and has since become a staple at White Sox home games.[67] The White Sox front office has tried several times to replace the song in an attempt to "shake things up", but White Sox fans have always showed their discontent towards a new song and they have successfully gotten the front office to keep the fan favorite song.[68]
• "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey – During the 2005 season, the White Sox adopted the 1981 Journey song as their rally song after catcher A.J. Pierzynski suggested for it to be played through U.S. Cellular Field's speakers. During the 2005 World Series, the White Sox invited Journey's lead singer, Steve Perry, to Houston and allowed him to celebrate with the team on the field after the series-clinching sweep of the Houston Astros.[69] Perry also performed the song with members of the team during the team's victory parade in Chicago.
• "Don't Stop the Party" by Pitbull – After every White Sox home run at Guaranteed Rate Field, "Don't Stop the Party" by Pitbull is played over the loudspeakers.

Fielder Jones of the White Sox hits the ball against Cubs at West Side Grounds, 1905

The Chicago Cubs are the crosstown rivals of the White Sox, a rivalry that some made fun of prior to the White Sox's 2005 title because both of them had extremely long championship droughts. The nature of the rivalry is unique; with the exception of the 1906 World Series, in which the White Sox upset the favored Cubs, the teams never met in an official game until 1997, when interleague play was introduced. In the intervening time, the two teams sometimes met for exhibition games. The White Sox currently lead the regular-season series 48–39, winning the last four seasons in a row. The BP Crosstown Cup was introduced in 2010 and the White Sox won the first three seasons (2010-2012) until the Cubs first won the Cup in 2013 by sweeping the season series. The White Sox won the Cup the next season and retained the Cup the following two years (series was a tie - Cup remains with defending team in the event of a tie). The Cubs took back the Cup in 2017. Two series sweeps have occurred since interleague play began, both by the Cubs in 1998 and 2013.

An example of this volatile rivalry is the game played between the White Sox and the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field on May 20, 2006. White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski was running home on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Brian Anderson and smashed into Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, who was blocking home plate. Pierzynski lost his helmet in the collision, and slapped the plate as he rose. Barrett stopped him, and after exchanging a few words, punched Pierzynski in the face, causing a melee to ensue. Brian Anderson and Cubs first baseman John Mabry got involved in a separate confrontation, although Mabry was later determined to be attempting to be a peacemaker. After 10 minutes of conferring following the fight, the umpires ejected Pierzynski, Barrett, Anderson, and Mabry. As Pierzynski entered his dugout, he pumped his arms, causing the soldout crowd at U.S. Cellular Field to erupt in cheers. When play resumed, White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi blasted a grand slam to put the White Sox up 5–0 on their way to a 7–0 win over their crosstown rivals.[70] While other major league cities and metropolitan areas have two teams co-exist, all of the others feature at least one team that began playing there in 1961 or later, whereas the White Sox and Cubs have been competing for their city's fans since 1901.

A historical regional rival was the St. Louis Browns. Through the 1953 season, the two teams were located fairly close to each other (including the 1901 season when the Browns were the Milwaukee Brewers), and could have been seen as the American League equivalent of the Cardinals–Cubs rivalry, being that Chicago and St. Louis have for years been connected by the same highway (U.S. Route 66 and now Interstate 55). The rivalry has been somewhat revived at times in the past, involving the Browns' current identity, the Baltimore Orioles, most notably in 1983.

The current Milwaukee Brewers franchise were arguably the White Sox's main and biggest rival, due to the proximity of the two cities (resulting in large numbers of White Sox fans who would regularly be in attendance at the Brewers' former home, Milwaukee County Stadium), and with the teams competing in the same American League division for the 1970 and 1971 seasons and then again from 1994 to 1997. The rivalry has since cooled off, however, when the Brewers moved to the National League in 1998.

In 1990, then new White Sox owners Eddie Einhorn and Jerry Reinsdorf began Chicago White Sox Charities, a 501(c) (3) charitable organization that is the team's philanthropic arm, donating over $27 million over time to a plethora of Chicago organizations. White Sox Charities began centering on early childhood literacy programs, then expanded to focusing on encouraging high school graduation and college matriculation so the team can monitor its success. It also supports children at risk as well as promotes wellness and health.[71]

Elson in the 1940s

The White Sox did not sell exclusive rights for radio broadcasts from radio's inception until 1944, instead having local stations share rights for games, and after WGN (720) was forced to abdicate their rights to the team in the 1943 after 16 seasons due to children's programming commitments from their network, Mutual.[75][76] The White Sox first granted exclusive rights in 1944, and bounced between stations until 1952, when they started having all games broadcast on WCFL (1000).[77] Throughout this period of instability, one thing remained constant, the White Sox play-by-play announcer, Bob Elson. Known as the "Commander", Elson was the voice of the Sox from 1929 until his departure from the club in 1970.[78] In 1979, he was the recipient of the Ford Frick Award, and his profile is permanently on display in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

After the 1966 season, radio rights shifted from WCFL to WMAQ (670). An NBC-owned and -operated station until 1988 when Westinghouse Broadcasting purchased it after NBC's withdrawal from radio, it was the home of the Sox until the 1996 season, outside of a team nadir in the early '70s, where it was forced to broker time on suburban La Grange's WTAQ (1300) and Evanston's WEAW-FM (105.1) to have their play-by-play air in some form (though WEAW transmitted from the John Hancock Center, FM radio was not established as a band for sports play-by-play at the time),[75] and a one-season contract on WBBM (780) in 1981. After Elson's retirement in 1970, Harry Caray began his tenure as the voice of the White Sox, on radio and on television. Although best remembered as a broadcaster for the rival Cubs, Caray was very popular with White Sox fans, pining for a "cold one" during broadcasts.[79] Caray often broadcast from the stands, sitting at a table set up amid the bleachers. It became a badge of honor among Sox fans to "Buy Harry a beer..." By game's end, one would see a large stack of empty beer cups beside his microphone. This only endeared him to fans that much more. In fact, he started his tradition of leading the fans in the singing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" with the Sox.[80] Caray, alongside color analyst Jimmy Piersall, was never afraid to criticize the Sox, which angered numerous Sox managers and players, notably Bill Melton and Chuck Tanner. He left to succeed Jack Brickhouse as the voice of the Cubs in 1981, where he became a national icon.

The White Sox shifted through several announcers in the 1980s, before hiring John Rooney as play-by-play announcer in 1989. In 1992, he was paired with color announcer Ed Farmer. In 14 seasons together, the duo became a highly celebrated announcing team, even being ranked by USA Today as the top broadcasting team in the American League.[81] Starting with Rooney and Farmer's fifth season together, Sox games returned to the 1000 AM frequency for the first time in 30 years (now the ESPN owned and operated station WMVP). The last game on WMVP was game 4 of the 2005 World Series, with the White Sox clinching their first World Series title in 88 years. That also was Rooney's last game with the Sox, as he left to join the radio broadcast team of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In 2006, radio broadcasts returned to 670 AM, this time on the sports radio station WSCR owned by CBS Radio (WSCR took over the 670 frequency in August 2000 as part of a number of shifts among CBS Radio properties to meet market ownership caps). Ed Farmer became the play-by-play man after Rooney left, joined in the booth by Chris Singleton from 2006 to 2007 and then Steve Stone in 2008. In 2009, Darrin Jackson became the color announcer for White Sox radio, where he remains today.[82] Farmer and Jackson were joined by pregame/postgame host Chris Rogney.

The Chicago White Sox Radio Network currently has 18 affiliates in three states.[83] As of recently, White Sox games are also broadcast in Spanish with play-by-play announcer Hector Molina joined in the booth by Billy Russo.[84] Formerly broadcasting on ESPN Deportes Radio via WNUA, games are now broadcast in Spanish on WRTO (1200).[85][86]

In the 2016 season, the play-by-play rights shifted to Cumulus Media's WLS (890) under a five-year deal, when WSCR acquired the rights to Cubs games after a one-year period on WBBM. However, by all counts, the deal was a disaster for the White Sox, as WLS's declining conservative talk format, associated ratings, and management/personnel issues (including said hosts barely promoting the team and its games), and a signal that is weak in the northern suburbs and into Wisconsin, was not a good fit for the team. Cumulus also had voluminous financial issues, and by the start of 2018, looked to both file Chapter 11 bankruptcy and get out of the play-by-play business entirely, both with local teams and nationally through their Westwood One/NFL deal.[87][75]

The White Sox and Tribune Broadcasting (which has since merged with Nexstar Media Group) then announced a three-year deal for WGN Radio to become the White Sox flagship as of February 14, 2018, just in time for spring training. Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson continued to be on play-by-play, with Andy Masur taking over pregame/postgame duties.[88] Ed Farmer died suddenly on April 1, 2020 a long-term battle with polycystic kidney disease, but the team waited to announce his successor due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[89] On June 30, Masur was confirmed as Farmer's successor for the season.[90]

Under Nexstar's new management, WGN decided to pursue a thriftier programming direction, and made no moves to renew the deal at the end of the 2020 season. The team thus returned to WMVP (now managed by Good Karma Brands, which also owns Brewers flagship WTMJ) for a multi-year agreement to start with the 2021 season.[91] In a surprising turn of events, WMVP and the team announced on December 4, 2020 that Len Kasper, the longtime television play-by-play voice of the Cubs, would move to the South Side and become the radio play-by-play voice of the White Sox. The agreement has flexibility which allows Kasper to do some television games on NBC Sports Chicago on days when Jason Benetti has other national commitments.[92]

White Sox games appeared sporadically on television throughout the first half of the 20th century, most commonly announced by Jack Brickhouse on WGN-TV (channel 9). Starting in 1968, Jack Drees took play-by-play duties as the Sox were broadcast on WFLD (channel 32).[93] After 1972, Harry Caray (joined by Jimmy Piersall in 1977) began double duty as a TV and radio announcer for the Sox, as broadcasts were moved to channel 44, WSNS-TV, from 1972 to 1980, followed by one year on WGN-TV.

Don Drysdale became the play-by-play announcer in 1982, as the White Sox began splitting their broadcasts between WFLD and the new regional cable television network, Sportsvision. Ahead of its time, Sportsvision had a chance to gain huge profits for the Sox. However, few people would subscribe to the channel after being used to free-to-air broadcasts for many years, along with Sportsvision being stunted by the city of Chicago's wiring for cable television taking much longer than many markets because of it being an area where over-the-air subscription services were still more popular, resulting in the franchise losing around $300,000 a month.[94] While this was going on, every Cubs game was on WGN, with Harry Caray becoming the national icon he never was with the White Sox. The relatively easy near-national access to Cubs games versus Sox games in this era, combined with the popularity of Caray and the Cubs being owned by the Tribune Company, is said by some to be the main cause of the Cubs' advantage in popularity over the Sox.

Harrelson in the broadcast booth in 2007

Three major changes to White Sox broadcasting happened each year from 1989 to 1991: in 1989 with the city finally fully wired for cable service, Sportsvision was replaced by SportsChannel Chicago (itself eventually turning into Fox Sports Net Chicago), which varied over its early years as a premium sports service and basic cable channel. In 1990, over-the-air broadcasts shifted back to WGN. And in 1991, Ken Harrelson became the play-by-play announcer of the White Sox.[95] One of the most polarizing figures in baseball, "Hawk" has been both adored and scorned for his emotive announcing style. His history of calling out umpires has earned him reprimands from the MLB commissioner's office, and he has been said to be the most biased announcer in baseball.[96] However, Harrelson has said that he is proud of being "the biggest homer in baseball", saying that he is a White Sox fan like his viewers.[97] The team moved from FSN Chicago to the newly launched NBC Sports Chicago in March 2005, as Jerry Reinsdorf looked to control the rights for his team rather than sell rights to another party; Reinsdorf holds a 40% interest in the network, with 20% of that interest directly owned by the White Sox corporation.

Previously, White Sox local television broadcasts were split between two channels: the majority of games were broadcast on cable by NBC Sports Chicago, and remaining games were produced by WGN Sports and were broadcast locally on WGN-TV. WGN games were also occasionally picked up by local stations in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. In the past, WGN games were broadcast nationally on the WGN America superstation, but those broadcasts ended after the 2014 season as WGN America began its transition to a standard cable network.[98] WGN Sports-produced White Sox games not carried by WGN-TV were carried by WCIU-TV (channel 26) until the 2015 season, when they moved to MyNetworkTV station WPWR (channel 50).[99] That arrangement ended on September 1, 2016 when WGN became an independent station.

Prior to 2016, the announcers were the same no matter where the games were broadcast: Harrelson provided play-by-play, and Steve Stone provided color analysis since 2009.[100] Games that are broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago feature pregame and postgame shows, hosted by Chuck Garfein with analysis from Bill Melton and occasionally Frank Thomas. In 2016, the team announced an official split of the play-by-play duties, with Harrelson calling road games and the Crosstown Series and Jason Benetti calling home games.[101] In 2017, the team announced that the 2018 season will be Harrelson's final in the booth. He will call 20 games over the course of the season, after which Benetti will take over full-time play-by-play duties.[102]

On January 2, 2019, the White Sox (along with the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks) agreed to an exclusive multiyear deal with NBC Sports Chicago, ending the team's broadcasts on WGN-TV following the 2019 season.[103]

• Source:[104]

Note: American League Championship Series began in 1969

• Luke Appling 1930–1950
• Ozzie Guillén 1990–1997
• Carlton Fisk 1990–1993
• Paul Konerko 2006–2014

The White Sox have retired a total of 12 jersey numbers: 11 worn by former White Sox and number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.[111]

Nellie Fox 2B   Retired May 1, 1976 Harold Baines RF, DH Coach Retired August 20, 1989 Luke Appling SS Coach Retired June 7, 1975 Minnie Miñoso LF Coach Retired May 8, 1983 Luis Aparicio SS   Retired August 14, 1984 Paul Konerko 1B   Retired May 23, 2015 Ted Lyons P  Manager Retired July 25, 1987 Billy Pierce P   Retired July 25, 1987 Frank Thomas 1B, DH   Retired August 29, 2010 Mark Buehrle P   Retired June 24, 2017 Carlton Fisk C   Retired September 14, 1997 Jackie Robinson 2B   Retired By all of MLB 1997

Luis Aparicio's number 11 was issued at his request for 11 time Gold Glove winner shortstop Omar Vizquel (because number 13 was used by manager Ozzie Guillén; Vizquel, like Aparicio and Guillen, play(ed) shortstop and all share a common Venezuelan heritage). Vizquel played for team in 2010 and 2011.[112]

Also, Harold Baines had his number 3 retired in 1989; it has since been 'unretired' 3 times in each of his subsequent returns.

• 6: Since Charley Lau's death in 1984, no White Sox player or coach (except Lau disciple Walt Hriniak, the Chicago White Sox's hitting coach from 1989 to 1995) has worn his number 6 jersey, although it has not been officially retired.
• 13: Since Ozzie Guillén left as manager of the White Sox, no Sox player or coach has worn his number 13 jersey, although it is not officially retired.