Tag: White Sox

Dec 16 – Circus back in town

DECEMBER 16, 1975 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Baseball showman Bill Veeck got the keys to the Chicago White Sox on this date in 1975. Veeck’s group bought the team for $10-million (The White Sox estimated value today is more than $900-million).

This was Veeck’s second tour as owner of the team. He purchased the Sox in 1959, which turned out to be good timing because they won their first American League pennant in 40 years that season.

William Louis Veeck left his mark on major league baseball with all kinds of attention-grabbing stunts, some appreciated by his fellow owners, some not. One that drew the ire of many was while owner of the St. Louis Browns he had a midget pinch-hit. He, of course, walked. Other “gimmicks” have become standard baseball attractions. He introduced the exploding scoreboard, fireworks displays, Fan Appreciation Day, and player’s names on uniforms.

There is one baseball attraction Veeck had a hand in – literally – that has become an endearing highlight of one of baseball’s great ballparks. As a teenager he helped plant the ivy on the outfield wall of Wrigley Field when his father, William Veeck Sr., was president of the Chicago Cubs. Many say the ivy was young Bill’s idea.

Contributing sources:
MLB team valuations, Bloomberg
The Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 1975
Bill Veeck: A Baseball Mastermind, BusinessWeek, October 27, 2004

March 26:Louie’s career ends

WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA, MARCH 26, 1974. All good things must come to an end, and on this date in 1974 it was the 18-year Hall of Fame career of shortstop Luis Aparicio. “Little Louie” – 5’9″, 160 lb. – was given his walking papers by Boston Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson right after they beat the Montreal Expos in an exhibition game. Aparicio was still in uniform.

Aparicio would be 40 in a few weeks and be able to spend his birthday at home in Maracaibo, Venezuela for the first time in 21 years.

Being let go was a disappointment, but Aparicio took it in stride, “The first thing I thought about when I walked out of the office was about my five kids.” Aparicio would be 40 in a few weeks and be able to spend his birthday at home in Maracaibo, Venezuela for the first time in 21 years.

Aparicio had been with the Boston Red Sox for three years, but played most of his career for the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. He was an 11-time all-star with 9 Gold Gloves and a prototype lead-off man with 506 career stolen bases.

Aparicio was on two World Series teams. He put the “go” in the 1959 “go-go” White Sox, which lost the Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He got some revenge playing for the Orioles in 1966 when they swept the Dodgers in 4 straight. But on this date in 1974, Aparicio’s HOF career ended.

Contributing sources:
United Press International (UPI), by Milton Richman, March 27, 1974
More on Aparicio

JAN 14: OFTEN TRADED HALL OF FAMER APARICIO

JANUARY 14, 1963 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS • Luis Aparicio was a Hall of Fame shortstop, a 13-time All-Star, a 9-time Gold Glove winner, a fan favorite everywhere he went, so why was he traded so often? “Little Louie” as he was called, was traded on this day in 1963 along with Al Smith, from the Chicago White Sox to the Baltimore Orioles for Hoyt Wilhelm, Dave Nicholson, Pete Ward, and Ron Hansen.

Aparicio was traded three times, but one of those was back to the White Sox, the team he started his career with. There was never a hint of Aparicio being anything but a team player.

When he retired in 1973 Aparicio was the all-time leader in games played, assists and putouts by a shortstop. He was the American League stolen base leader nine years in a row. He helped the White Sox get to the World Series in 1959 and helped the Baltimore Orioles win the World Series in 1966.

In an 18-year big league career the Venezuelan born Aparicio never played any position other than shortstop?

Luis Aparicio was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. So, why was he traded so often?

Contributing source:
Baseball-Reference

July 19th in baseball history – Mass ejections at Fenway

JULY 19, 1946 | Boston, Massachusetts – Fourteen Chicago White Sox players were kicked out of a game against the Red Sox in mass ejections at Fenway Park. It all started when White Sox pitcher Joe Haynes put Red Sox slugger Ted Williams on his fanny, the result of a pitch too far inside.

Umpire Red Jones gave Haynes a warning not to throw at Red Sox hitters. Here’s how the Associated Press described what happened next:

"A chorus of yammering from the Chicago bench resulted in [Umpire] Jones ordering four White Sox players from the bench - Ralph Hodgin, Dario Lodigiani, Ed Smith and Bling Miller." The "yammerin" didn't stop."

Before the game was over 14 White Sox were ordered from the dugout for making derisive comments about Jones’ vision and judgment.

The Red Sox went on to win easily 9-2, and increase their lead against the second place New York Yankees to 11½ games.

A YAMMERING VENTRILOQUIST?

A story surfaced some days after the mass ejections at Fenway that it wasn’t the players doing the yammering. It was, get this, a ventriloquist in the stands. If you read John Branch‘s 2006 story from the New York Times you’ll find that the facts kind of get in the way of a good story.

The Red Sox went on to win the American League pennant in 1946 (this was before division play) before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
New York Times, July 6, 2006
The Associated Press (AP), July 20, 1946, Boston, MA  

 

July 12th in baseball history – “Strange brew” at Comiskey Park

JULY 12, 1979 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – A “strange brew” was created at Comiskey Park on this date in 1979. It caused the Chicago White Sox to forfeit the second game of a doubleheader. The “strange brew” was disco music, rock & roll and baseball.

In one of the first examples of sports cross-promotion, Chicago radio “shock jocks,” Steve Dahl and Garry Meier joined forces with Mike Veeck, the son of Sox owner Bill Veeck. Dahl and Meier despised disco music and wanted to bring about its demise. Veeck wanted more fans in the stands.

They agreed to have a “Disco Demolition Night.” Dahl and Meier invited thousands of their fans to bring disco records to the Sox-Detroit Tiger doubleheader in exchange for a free ticket. The records would be blown up in center field between games.

The problem was, many more thousands of fans than they expected brought disco records to the game in exchange for a free ticket.

Once this triumphant disco demolition took place the “fans,” most of who, you could safely bet, were not your average baseball fans, became oblivious to a second game soon having to be played on the field they were trampling.

After more than an hour of trying to clear the field, chief umpire Dave Phillips postponed the game. American League President Lee McPhail went further and ruled the game a forfeit win for the Tigers, who also won the first game 4-1.

It was an embarrassment for the hometown White Sox, but as the late 1960’s Cream lyrics say, “Strange brew, kill what’s inside of you.” Maybe it helped bring about the demise of disco.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
The Chicago Tribune, July 13, 1979
ESPN program on Disco Demolition