48 Facts About White Sox

1.

Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago.

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2.

The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League Central division.

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3.

The White Sox are one of two MLB teams based in Chicago, the other being the Chicago Cubs of the National League Central division.

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4.

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the White Sox were established as a major league baseball club in 1900 as the Chicago White Stockings, before shortening their name to the White Sox in 1904.

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5.

White Sox won the 1906 World Series with a defense-oriented team dubbed "the Hitless Wonders", and the 1917 World Series, led by Eddie Cicotte, Eddie Collins and Shoeless Joe Jackson.

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6.

The 1919 World Series was marred by the Black Sox Scandal, in which several members of the White Sox were accused of conspiring with gamblers to fix games.

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7.

In 1959, the White Sox, led by Early Wynn, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, and manager Al Lopez, won the American League pennant.

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8.

White Sox originated as the Sioux City Cornhuskers of the Western League, a minor league under the parameters of the National Agreement with the National League.

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9.

The franchise, now known as the Chicago White Sox, made its first World Series appearance in 1906, beating the crosstown Cubs in six games.

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10.

White Sox won a third pennant and a second World Series in 1917, beating the New York Giants in six games with help from stars Eddie Cicotte and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.

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11.

The White Sox were heavily favored in the 1919 World Series, but lost to the Cincinnati Reds in eight games.

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12.

White Sox did not finish in the upper half of the American League again until after founder Charles Comiskey died and passed ownership of the club to his son, J Louis Comiskey.

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13.

From 1951 to 1967, the White Sox had their longest period of sustained success, scoring a winning record for 17 straight seasons.

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14.

The White Sox finished in the upper half of the American League in eight of his nine seasons, including six years in the top two of the league.

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15.

In 1959, the White Sox ended the New York Yankees' dominance over the American League, and won their first pennant since the ill-fated 1919 campaign.

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16.

White Sox struggled for the rest of the 1980s, as Chicago fought to keep them in town.

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17.

White Sox were fairly successful in the 1990s and early 2000s, with 12 winning seasons from 1990 to 2005.

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18.

The White Sox won the West division in 1993, and were in first place in 1994, when the season was cancelled due to the 1994 MLB Strike.

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19.

The White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series, giving them their first World Championship in 88 years.

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20.

Guillen had marginal success during the rest of his tenure, with the White Sox winning the Central Division title in 2008 after a one-game playoff with the Minnesota Twins.

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21.

Also occurring during the 2018 season, the White Sox announced that the club would be the first Major League Baseball team to entirely discontinue use of plastic straws, in ordinance with the "Shedd the Straw" campaign by Shedd Aquarium.

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22.

The White Sox broke an MLB record during their 100-loss campaign of 2018, but broke the single-season strikeout record in only a year after the Milwaukee Brewers broke the record in the 2017 season.

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23.

White Sox only allowed one baserunner, which was a walk to Erik Gonzalez in the fourth inning.

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24.

On September 23,2021, the White Sox clinched the American League Central Division for the first time since 2008 against the Cleveland Indians.

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25.

Yet by far, the most unusual wrinkle was the option to wear shorts, which the White Sox did for the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals in 1976.

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26.

In those jerseys, the White Sox won 99 games and the AL West championship in 1983, the best record in the majors.

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27.

In one game during the 2014 season, the White Sox paired their throwbacks with a cap featuring the batter logo instead of the wordmark "SOX"; this is currently their batting-practice cap prior to games in the throwback uniforms.

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28.

That same year, the White Sox wore "City Connect" alternate uniforms introduced by Nike, featuring an all-black design with silver pinstripes, and "Southside" wordmark in front.

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29.

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

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30.

White Sox were originally known as the White Stockings, a reference to the original name of the Chicago Cubs.

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31.

The Chicago White Sox are most prominently nicknamed "the South Siders", based on their particular district within Chicago.

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32.

In 1988, the White Sox got rid of Ribbie and Roobarb; Andy the Clown was not permitted to perform in the new Comiskey Park when it opened in 1991.

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33.

White Sox was one of the first ballpark organists to play pop music, and became known for her songs playing on the names of opposing players.

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34.

The BP Crosstown Cup was introduced in 2010 and the White Sox won the first three seasons until the Cubs first won the Cup in 2013 by sweeping the season series.

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35.

The White Sox won the Cup the next season and retained the Cup the following two years.

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36.

The Twins won the division in 2002,2003,2004,2006, and 2009, with the White Sox winning in 2005,2008, and 2010, and many of those years their rival was the division runner-up.

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37.

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.

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38.

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 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.

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39.

The White Sox first granted exclusive rights in 1944, and bounced between stations until 1952, when they started having all games broadcast on WCFL.

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40.

Caray, alongside color analyst Jimmy Piersall, was never afraid to criticize the White Sox, which angered numerous White Sox managers and players, notably Bill Melton and Chuck Tanner.

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41.

White Sox left to succeed Jack Brickhouse as the voice of the Cubs in 1981, where he became a national icon.

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42.

White Sox shifted through several announcers in the 1980s, before hiring John Rooney as play-by-play announcer in 1989.

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43.

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.

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44.

White Sox games appeared sporadically on television throughout the first half of the 20th century, most commonly announced by Jack Brickhouse on WGN-TV.

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45.

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.

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46.

White Sox will call 20 games over the course of the season, after which Benetti will take over full-time play-by-play duties.

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47.

On January 2,2019, the White Sox agreed to an exclusive multiyear deal with NBC Sports Chicago, ending the team's broadcasts on WGN-TV following the 2019 season.

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48.

White Sox invested in 120 Sports, a digital sports channel, that launched in June 2016.

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