Chicago White Sox

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1901
• Home ballpark: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, Illinois
• Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf
• Team colors: Black, silver, and white

Overview

The Chicago White Sox is a Major League Baseball (MLB) team that plays in the Central division of the American League (AL). Originating in 1894 as a minor league team called the Sioux City Cornhuskers, the White Sox first took the field as a major league team in 1901. Over the course of their long history, the White Sox have won several World Series championships and AL pennants and earned numerous other accolades. The White Sox franchise is also infamously known for its involvement in the notorious Black Sox scandal, which saw several players allegedly conspire with gamblers to fix the 1919 World Series. Heading into the 2024 season, the team had an all-time record that included 9,553 wins and 9,491 losses for an overall .502 win/loss percentage. Perhaps best known for their crosstown rivalry with the Chicago Cubs, the White Sox have a deeply devoted fan base that stands by the team even in the worst of times. The White Sox are also a financially successful franchise, worth an estimated $2 billion in 2023.

History

The history of the Chicago White Sox began with the formation of a minor league team called the Sioux City Cornhuskers in 1894. Just a year later, former baseball player and manager Charles Comiskey purchased the Cornhuskers and moved them to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they subsequently played as the Saints. In 1900, Comiskey took the team to the south side of Chicago and called them the White Stockings, a name formerly used by the National League (NL) club that would eventually become the Chicago Cubs. The following year, the White Stockings joined the newly formed AL and became a major league team for the first time.

The White Stockings made their major league debut with an 8–2 win over the Cleveland Blues on April 22, 1901. From that point forward, the team’s inaugural AL season was a great success. The White Stockings ultimately finished the year with a league-leading 83–53 record, which earned them the first AL Championship. Over the next few years, however, the team was inconsistent at best. In 1904, the White Stockings shortened their name to the White Sox—a nickname originally created by the Chicago sports media.

Despite struggling so mightily at the bat that they were briefly dubbed the “Hitless Wonders,” the White Sox ultimately had a breakout year in 1906. Even with a team batting average of .230, the White Sox thrived thanks to a strong pitching staff. After winning ninety-three regular season games, the team entered the postseason and met the Cubs in the World Series. In the end, the White Sox beat the Cubs in six games to win the first World Series championship in franchise history.

After experiencing a downturn that lasted well into the 1910s, the White Sox found their footing again in 1917. That year, the team won one hundred regular season games and again entered the postseason with considerable momentum. In the World Series, they squared off against the New York Giants. After a back and forth six-game series, the White Sox defeated the Giants to claim their second World Series championship.

Following an injury-plagued 1918 season that ended in disappointment, the White Sox entered the 1919 season poised for a return to greatness. As it happened, however, 1919 turned out to be the darkest, most notorious year in White Sox history. One of the league’s best teams, the White Sox made it to the World Series once again and found themselves facing the Cincinnati Reds. While the White Sox were the heavy favorites to win, eight players who were frustrated with owner Comiskey’s unwillingness to pay bonuses allegedly conspired with a group of gamblers reportedly led by famed New York racketeer Arnold Rothstein to fix the series. To the surprise of many suspicious onlookers, the White Sox were defeated by the outmatched Reds in eight games. Accusations that the White Sox intentionally threw the series arose quickly, but such claims were not taken seriously until evidence of the fix emerged the following year. The so-called Black Sox Scandal that ensued led to all eight players being banned from baseball for life. Criminal charges were also filed against the players, but the case ultimately went nowhere after their confessions were mysteriously lost.

The scandal surrounding the 1919 World Series and its fallout had a lasting impact on the White Sox. For most of the next eighty-six seasons, the team struggled to find any meaningful success on the field. In fact, the team failed to make a return to the postseason at all for several decades. The White Sox did not make the playoffs until the 1980s except for the year 1959, when the team went on a run that took them all the way to the World Series and an eight-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. After that, team’s next taste of postseason success did not come until 1983, when a squad dubbed the “Go-Go Sox” managed to win a divisional championship before being eliminated by the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Another divisional win and ALCS elimination followed in 1993.

Under the direction of manager Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox embarked on a historic run in 2005 that included ninety-nine regular season wins and a successful trip to the postseason that saw the team beat the Houston Astros to win the third World Series championship in franchise history. In the years that followed, the White Sox largely returned to mediocrity, making the playoffs just three times from 2006 to 2023.

Notable players

Several former Chicago White Sox players have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Perhaps chief among these honorees was pitcher Ed Walsh. In thirteen seasons with the White Sox that lasted from 1904 to 1916, Walsh distinguished himself as one of the game’s greatest players. In addition to going on a historic forty-win season in 1908, Walsh ultimately retired with a lifetime earned run average (ERA) of 1.82, the lowest in MLB history. He was also a critical part of the first White Sox World Series win in 1906. First baseman Frank Thomas played all but three years of his nineteen-year career with the White Sox. A standout with the team from 1990 to 2005, Thomas was a dominant force at the plate. His most impressive feat was putting together a remarkable run of seven consecutive seasons during which he recorded at least 20 home runs, 100 runs batted in (RBIs), 100 walks, and a .300 batting average. Over the course of his White Sox career, Thomas amassed a total of 1,327 runs and 448 homers. Second baseman Eddie Collins played for the White Sox from 1915 to 1926 and was one of the team’s most productive batters during that era. During his time with the White Sox, Collins had 2,007 hits, 1,065 runs, and 31 homers. He was also a key contributor to the team’s 1917 World Series victory. Shortstop Luke Appling played his entire twenty-season career with the White Sox from 1930 to 1950. During that time, he recorded 2,749 hits, 1,319 runs, and 45 homers and achieved a .310 career batting average. Other notable White Sox Hall of Famers include Luis Aparicio, Harold Baines, Red Faber, and Carlton Fisk.

There have been many other notable Chicago White Sox players as well. If not for their ties to the Black Sox scandal, pitcher Eddie Cicotte and outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson would likely be Hall of Famers. Playing with the White Sox from 1912 to 1920, Cicotte threw 961 strikeouts and recorded 156 wins. In six years as a White Sox player, Jackson had 829 hits, 396 runs, and 30 homers. Leftfielder and third baseman Minnie Miñoso played a total of twelve seasons with the White Sox over the course of three separate stints in the 1950s and 1960s. In that time, he recorded 1,523 hits, 893 runs, and 135 homers. Pitcher Billy Pierce played with the White Sox from 1949 to 1961. In that time, he recorded 1,796 strikeouts and earned 186 wins. Although he never played in an official game, it is also worth noting that basketball legend Michael Jordan played with the White Sox when he made his brief foray into professional baseball in 1994. Playing mostly for the organization minor league affiliate Birmingham Barons, Jordan did appear in a White Sox uniform during an April 7, 1994, exhibition game against the Cubs.

Bibliography

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“Chicago White Sox Team History.” Sports Team History, 2020, sportsteamhistory.com/chicago-white-sox. Accessed 6 May 2020.

“Chicago White Sox Team History & Encyclopedia.” Baseball Reference, 2024, www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

“Franchise History.” Chicago White Sox, 2020, www.mlb.com/whitesox/history/timeline. Accessed 6 May 2020.

“# 15 Chicago White Sox.” Forbes, March 2023, www.forbes.com/teams/chicago-white-sox/#13559d3f76e8. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

“White Sox in the Community.” Chicago White Sox, 2020, www.mlb.com/whitesox/community. Accessed 6 May 2020.