50 Fun Facts About Chicago White Sox

In which division do the White Sox play?

They won the AL West in 1983 and 1993 before realignment moved them to the Central.

Which part of Chicago is home to the White Sox?

Hence the nickname 'South Siders'; the Cubs are on the North Side.

Where did the franchise begin in 1894, as the Cornhuskers?

Charles Comiskey moved them to St. Paul as the Saints and then to Chicago in 1900.

What was the team called when it joined the American League as a charter member in 1901?

The name had belonged to the crosstown NL club that became the Cubs; it was shortened to White Sox in 1904.

Whom did the White Sox beat to win their first World Series in 1906?

The 'Hitless Wonders' had the league's worst batting average, .230, and still won.

Why was the 1906 team nicknamed the 'Hitless Wonders'?

Cavernous South Side Park, a former cricket ground, suited them.

Which team did the White Sox lose the fixed 1919 World Series to?

They had beaten the Giants for the title two years earlier.

How many White Sox players were banned for life over the Black Sox scandal?

All had been acquitted at a 1921 trial, but Commissioner Landis banned them anyway.

Which commissioner banned the Black Sox players?

He was baseball's first commissioner, appointed with absolute power to restore the game's integrity.

Which gambler is often said to have led the syndicate behind the fix?

The evidence for and against his involvement is described as strong on both sides.

In which year did Commissioner Rob Manfred reinstate the Black Sox players?

By then all of them had long been dead.

What is Shoeless Joe Jackson's career batting average?

It remains one of the highest in major-league history.

How did Joe Jackson get the nickname 'Shoeless'?

It happened at a mill game in Greenville, South Carolina, by his own account.

Where did the phrase 'Say it ain't so, Joe' actually originate?

Charley Owens wrote it; the story about a child saying it was a later reporter's embellishment.

How many seasons did the White Sox go between World Series titles, from 1917 to 2005?

Only the Cubs' 108-year wait was longer.

What was the nickname of the speed-focused 1950s-60s teams?

Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio and Minnie Miñoso were the stars of the era.

Who beat the White Sox in the 1959 World Series?

Chicago won game one 11-0 and then lost the series in six.

Which owner brought the 'exploding scoreboard' to the old ballpark?

He owned the club twice, in 1959-61 and again from 1975.

In 1960 the White Sox became the first team in major sports to do what?

It was done for identification purposes.

What unusual item did the White Sox wear for a 1976 doubleheader game against Kansas City?

Chris Sale cut up a planned 2016 throwback version because he disliked it.

Which radio shock jock blew up a crate of records at Disco Demolition Night in 1979?

Admission was 98 cents with a disco record, a nod to his station's 97.9 FM frequency.

What was the consequence of the Disco Demolition riot for the second game of the doubleheader?

The field was too damaged by the explosion and the fans who stormed it.

Which manager led the 1983 'Winning Ugly' team to the franchise's first division title?

He was fired in 1986 by broadcaster-turned-GM Ken Harrelson and went on to the Hall of Fame.

Which Florida city nearly lured the White Sox away in the late 1980s?

Illinois approved stadium funding by one vote in an 11th-hour deal on June 30, 1988.

What was the new ballpark called when it opened in 1991?

It became U.S. Cellular Field in 2003, Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016 and Rate Field in 2024.

What is Frank Thomas's nickname?

He came to baseball via a football scholarship at Auburn.

In which consecutive years did Frank Thomas win the AL MVP?

The 1993 vote was unanimous; 1994 was the strike-shortened season.

Which White Sox slugger won the AL MVP in 1972?

It was the lone bright season of a bleak era when the club nearly moved to Milwaukee or Seattle.

Who managed the 2005 World Series champions?

He had been the team's shortstop and 1985 Rookie of the Year.

Whom did the White Sox sweep in the 2005 World Series?

They also swept the defending champion Red Sox in the Division Series.

Who was named MVP of the 2005 World Series?

His eighth-inning single off Brad Lidge won the clinching 1-0 Game 4.

Who hit the 14th-inning home run that won the marathon Game 3 of the 2005 World Series?

A former Astro, he had only entered the game in the 13th; the game lasted 5 hours 41 minutes.

What was the 2005 team's slogan?

The Sox won 99 games and swept the World Series.

Against which team did Mark Buehrle throw his 2009 perfect game?

His 2007 no-hitter was against Texas; DeWayne Wise's leaping catch in the ninth saved the perfecto.

Which umpire, who shares Buehrle's number 56, was behind the plate for both of his no-hitters?

Buehrle became the 24th pitcher with multiple no-hitters.

Who hit the walk-off homer to beat the Yankees in the 2021 Field of Dreams game?

The first White Sox walk-off homer against the Yankees was hit by Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1919.

How many games did the White Sox lose in 2024, a modern MLB record?

They passed the 1962 Mets, and also had a 21-game losing streak.

How old was the manager the White Sox rehired for 2021, making him MLB's oldest active skipper?

When first named Sox manager in 1979 he had been the youngest.

Which organist played 'Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye' into a stadium anthem in 1977?

She held the job for 40 years and was one of the first ballpark organists to play pop songs.

Which song is played once a White Sox game at Rate Field ends?

It is the Blues Brothers' version of the Robert Johnson standard.

Which NFL team's colours did the White Sox adopt with their 1990 black-and-silver rebrand?

The black SOX cap became a hip-hop staple worn by Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

Where do the White Sox hold spring training?

They share the $76 million complex with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Who was the unofficial mascot 'Andy the Clown' at the old ballpark from 1961 to 1991?

His long 'Come on you White Sox' cry was famous; he was barred from the new park in 1991.

Which trophy did the Cubs-White Sox interleague series play for from 2010?

Apart from the 1906 World Series, the two clubs never met officially until interleague play began in 1997.

Which environmental milestone did the White Sox claim in 2018?

It was part of the Shedd Aquarium's 'Shedd the Straw' campaign.

Which broadcaster coined the White Sox motto 'Good guys wear black'?

He also served briefly as general manager and fired Tony La Russa in 1986; La Russa went on to win three World Series elsewhere.

Whom did the White Sox beat in the 1917 World Series for their second title?

Eddie Cicotte and Shoeless Joe Jackson starred in the six-game win, two years before both were caught up in the Black Sox scandal.

Which shortstop, nicknamed 'Ol' Aches and Pains', had his number 4 retired by the White Sox?

He and pitcher Ted Lyons anchored Jimmy Dykes's teams that finished in the upper half most years from 1936 to 1946.

Which Venezuelan shortstop was issued Luis Aparicio's retired No. 11 at Aparicio's own request?

No. 13 was taken by manager Ozzie Guillén, so the 11-time Gold Glover wore 11 in 2010 and 2011.

Who managed the Go-Go White Sox from 1957 to 1965, including the 1959 pennant winners?

That team ended the Yankees' AL stranglehold but lost the World Series to the Dodgers despite an 11–0 win in Game 1.