Meet the White Sox B aseball is part of the rhythm of life in Chicago Illinois It has It has been that way for nearly 150 years The White Sox have ve been an important part of that tradition since the start of the 20th century They have competed with the Cubs for the hearts of Chicago baseball fans for more than 100 years Both teams have provided Chicago with wonderful memories and thrills But it was the White Sox that gave the city something it hadn’t had in more than 80 years a World Series championship This book tells the story of the White Sox Their fans like e to players who are ready to roll up their sleeves and work hard to e smile win That is the spirit of Chicago and it’s what makes people smile whenever the White Sox win Paul Konerko leads the team off the field after a 2011 victory He is one of the many White Sox who have captured the spirit of Chicago baseball 5
Glory Days W hat could be better than having a baseball team playing in your town In 1901 Chicago fans learned the answer having two teams That year the American League AL played its first season The AL’s best team was the Chicago White Stockings Almost from the start newspapers shortened the team’s name to White Sox That’s what it has been ever since The White Sox were owned by Charles Comiskey He had been a star player in the 1880s In the 1890s he bought a team in the minor leagues Comiskey decided to move this club to Chicago and join the AL The city’s National League NL team now known as the Cubs played on the north side of town The White Sox played on the south side This is still true today The White Sox had some of baseball’s greatest players in the early years of the 20th century Their stars included George Davis 6
LEFT Fielder Jones talks to the umpires before a World Series game in 1906 RIGHT Luis Aparicio Nick Altrock Ed Walsh Eddie Cicotte Ray Schalk Eddie Collins Happy Felsch Buck Weaver and Joe Jackson The White Sox won the World Series in 1906 under the guidance of player-manager Fielder Jones They won the championship again in 1917 But their best team was the one that captured the pennant in 1919 No one could believe it when the White Sox lost the World Series that fall Later it was discovered that several members of the team had made bad plays on purpose These players were thrown out of baseball forever Many fans still call the 1919 team the Black Sox During the 1920s 1930s and 1940s a handful of stars wore the Chicago uniform including pitchers Red Faber and Ted Lyons and hitters Bibb Falk and Luke Appling But it was not until the 1950s that the White Sox had a team good enough to challenge for the AL pennant again Led by infielders Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio and pitchers Early Wynn and Billy Pierce the White Sox 7
