#15 Walt Williams

A member of the South Side Sox....line drive hitter, not usually one to go yard....came out of Houston’s developmental program only NL experience was as a Colt .45 for 10 games 1964....passed through via St Louis Cardinals farm without a promotion despite twice hitting .330 twice first in the Texas League then PCL (good for league best).....Surfaced with Pale Hose by way of minor trade....First two year a reserve hitting near .240 remarkable but slightly better than team BA at the time...a major upgrade in 1969 exceeding .300 and for the only time escaping the collar of part-timer.....thereafter a flurry of see-saw years; 1970 a downgrade in BA to .251 and playing time...return to proficiency in 1971...lost time again in 1972 plus .249 BA....traded to Cleveland for 1973....his one put up a solid BA and a complementary career high of 38 RBIs.....Often put in leadoff hitter which limited RBI production...demonstrated base skills in minor but it transferred the MLB....traveled on to NYY but mired on the depth chart....left American to extend career over the border and overseas in Japan....Utilizing the smaller Japanese ballparks hit 44 home runs, pop that he had never shown before in the states.... Dabbled in minor league managing mid 90’s for Texas farm system.....Passed away in 2016.....has a grandnephew Mason Williams, presently a MLB journeyman....his nickname same as his granduncle “no neck”              

   

#73 Steve Huntz

Well traveled utility Infielder.....could hit for some power but struggled with sustaining an acceptable batting average at the MLB level....bandied about, employers include Orioles who originally signed him, Giants who kept him over a winter, White Sox twice, Dodgers serving two years in AAA, Cardinals with whom he made his debut, and two stints with the Padres representing the bulk of his MLB work....went yard 16 times at baseball highest level but yielded only a .206 BA.....most homers in one season 11 for the Padres in 1970....finished baseball playing with two years on the shores of Hawaii in AAA.  

#98 Chuck Tanner

An underrated miracle worker….at age 42 took the worst White Sox team in history to a 23 game upturn in 1971....his accomplice pitching coach Johnny Sain....aided by shrewd trades and internal moves.....came in with a great pedigree being two time minor league manager of the year in AA (1968) and AAA (1970) in the Angels system....From Western Pennsylvania coal country....common ground with his superstar Dick Allen and the two clicked....8 game improvement 1972.....At this time Tanner becomes a known quality and eventually in high demand.....continues with three more years in Chicago’s south side, one year in Oakland (1976), nine years in Pittsburgh (1977-85) and finishing with three seasons in Atlanta (1986-89)....continuous employment over 19 years.....His Pirates stint was a case of mutual attraction....Growing up 40 miles south of Pittsburgh he was a Bucs fan..... So wanted by the Pirates he was traded in exchange for catcher Manny Sanguillén and 100K....An extreme rare instance..... armed with considerable talent was able to pilot the Bucs to several winning seasons and more importantly the 1979 World Series Championship....knock on Tanner was that he looked the other way with club house drug use in the 80’s.....never won 100 games at the big league level....but did reach 101 in a combination 98 PCL wins and a 3-13 record in his 1970 debut with the Chisox.....was a 4^th outfielder as a player.

#126 Bart Johnson

Standing 6’5”tall Bart’s pedigree is one of athletic proficiency....Maybe the best athlete on the White Sox roster....Representative of new breed of player....floppy haired, outspoken with the brash declaration to be able to play a position spot when not pitching ...ala Babe Ruth....and/or play professional basketball in the off season....Ala as Dave DeBusschere did a decade earlier on south side of Chicago....had 22 point per game average as a BYU cager, drawing the eye of Seattle Super Sonic coach Bill Russell....Chose baseball where he felt he could excel....Up and down career greatly hampered by injuries....Debut with White Sox at age 19 in 1969....Career went on the upswing with the arrival of pitching Johnny Sain circa 1971....W-L record of 12-10 as both a fifth starter and their top reliever....Considered the hardest Pale Hose thrower at the time, more impressive given his peers were Terry Forrester and “Goose” Gossage....multiple injuries resulted in a disastrous 1972 start going 0-3 with 9.22 ERA... Strangely turned to being a position player after being demoted to the minors....hit very well, a combined BA of .316 for single A Appleton and AA Knoxville (interestingly he did not pitch at AA) which added credence to his personal position player claim ....nevertheless reverted back to the mound in 1973...appeared to have made a partial return to glory with a 10-7 record in 1974....Unfortunately lost out on the entire 1975 season due to a spring training back injury....career lost momentum from there on....went 13-21 with an elevated ERA over the next two year....had brief forays in minors for next three years....went into scouting but also tried a comeback in 1985..passed away in April 2020... It’s not a good thing if your nickname is “Toys in the Attic”....Which aside from being an early Aerosmith album the term is a metaphor for insanity...hmmm....interesting baseball journey.

#146 Steve Kealey

Serviceable reliever career spanning 5 years....Two teams;  Angels to White Sox....known for being fast to warm up which relegated him to mostly bullpen work...interesting albeit brief highlights....took on part time work 1968-1970 home office Anaheim California....highlight 1969 made a rare start and shutout the formidable Baltimore Orioles....spent most of his time in AAA Angel’s Hawaii farm club....As an Islander, was a favorite of skipper Chuck Tanner....1970 Islanders are considered one of the best minor league teams of all time...rejoined new appointment White Sox Tanner along with other ex-Anglos Tom Egan, Jay Johnstone, and pitcher Tom Bradley...good results all imports contributed to a 23 game upswing by the Windy City South crew....Steve's credits included 6 saves good for second on the club....late that season Steve got to bat and delivered what would be the last White Sox pitcher to hit a home run for what would be 35 years...Kealy sticks with the big club in 1972 registering 4 saves and an improved 3.30 ERA....in off season 1973 hurt arm by not warming up in the off season and never regained effectiveness at major or minor league level.   

#183 Bill Melton 184 Bill Melton In Action

Unexpected home run champ of the AL 1971.....relatively a newbie to the home run crown and departure from the perennial incumbents like Yaz, Killebrew, Frank Howard of the decade before....his 33 homers represented the lowest top mark  since 1964 but it was the first time White Sox took the honors....Melton’s debut took place in 1968, started slow and returned to the minors...September call up accounted for himself very well raising his BA by 62 points....took over Sox third base for good in 1969....relocated 23 baseball over the fence and in play....exceeds his encore by hitting 33 dingers in 1970....a positive on a truly bad 106 loss team....Melton was the backbone of the 1971 that made great strides towards respectability.... higher hopes with the addition of Dick Allen  for 1972 were dashed by Melton’s back injury....ChiSox run production suffered and fell short to the A’s....Melton comes back in with full seasons 1973-75 but has lost some his previous punch from get go....facing declining output traded to California and then Cleveland for 1976 and 1977 respectively...did not help and relegated mostly the bench....done thereafter.....sometimes a defensive liability; in 1970 split equal time at both third base and right field....move made after a disproportionally high number of errors... despite this  only DHed 88 times over five campaigns.

#207 Tom Egan

Had most productive season filling in as Chisox #2 backstop in 1971, responded with 10 home runs and 34 RBI's were both career bests....took over for the departed Dwayne Josephson....otherwise an offensive liability.... signed by the Angels in 1964 stayed with club all of 1965 but used hardly ever ....got late year call ups...1969 spent entire year with big club but his output was a meager .142 BA.....was able to stay and gain playing in 1970 lift his BA to .238.....Traded to Chicago (AL) for 1971....White Sox years mustered a .222 BA  ....taken back by Angels in 1974 Rule 5 draft...hit .164 in his last two years...was the catcher in Nolan Ryan’s 3^rd no hitter.

#233 Jay Johnstone

Baseball’s equivalent to a class clown....sometimes labeled a flake but really more of a prankster or comic impressionist....good at all off field talents....favorite comic routine involved putting a pillow under his shirt which initially was an impersonation of Babe Ruth which then eventually morphed into LA manager Tommy Lasorda....decent hard working ball player at times... ...had ups and down and despite comedic tendencies adapted and overcame....nevertheless an extensive career of 15 full and 5 partial seasons....optimal performance came from a platoon role and being allowed to hit in natural line drive style.....Born November 20^th 1945 sharing it with eventual teammate Rick Monday who was one year his senior...best practices were displayed in Philadelphia....one of the team’s best hitters mid 1974 to 1977 hitting over .300 and partook in 75% games....a slump in early 1978 started the frequent shuffle of teams with pinch hitting/part time status....stopped playing 1985.....When Jay was made they broke the mold.....one of a kind....started in the Angels organization.

#240 Dick Allen

No more Rich or Richie, forever more Dick….enters a new phase of his career as the most feared hitter in the AL verses one of most feared hitter in the NL….his story begins in two points on the map in Pennsylvania, first the small town of Wampum where he grows up, second the city of Philadelphia, where he is the firebrand hitting juggernaut of the Phillies circa 1964….averaged 29 home runs and an excellent .300 BA over 6 full campaigns...tumultuous times, an alienation of management flavored by holdouts, incidents, disappearances, and suspensions....the stormy relationship ended with a trade to St Louis for Curt Flood who refused to sign....hit well for Cardinal despite missing nearly 40 games....then flipped to the Dodgers for 1971....Dodger Stadium eroded power numbers but Allen impresses with his work ethic a start to erasing his malcontent image....never the less Allen is moved for the third time in as many years....As a White sox and Chuck Tanner who was a family friend....result a triumph....was MVP leading in home runs and RBIs....continued his tear at start of 1973 but an injury cut short his year and the White Sox hopes...rebounded in 74, taking the home run crown.....but makes an unusual retirement announcement nearing the end of the year....but doesn't fill out the paperwork and continues to be a property of the White Sox albeit not edible to play until May .....traded to Atlanta but nixed the idea....traded to team of origin, Phillies, contributes but is greatly limited by no spring training... his second Phillie incarnation was pocked with controversy as it had been before....wore out is welcome and was picked up personnel desperate Oakland A for 1977 and a small portion of 1978....after years of estrangement eventually returns to baseball....Brothers Hank and Ron also made the majors.....once hit two inside the park home runs in one game.    

#248 Tom Bradley

Bespectacled righty starter for the resurrected White Sox…Acquired at the behest of newly minted Sox skipper Chuck Tanner, who was Bradley’s AAA Hawaii Islander Manager in 1970….considered one of the best PCL teams of all time with 98-48 record….Bradley chips in with formidable 11-1 mark….while 1970 call up was so-so Bradley compiles a 17-6 overall record….Tanner’s faith is rewarded with 15 win season and Chisox make a 23 game improvement staving off destruction….Bradley performs a 15 win encore in 1972…. Seemingly in good standing on the south side it was not be…..Informed of a trade to San Francisco while he worked to sell White Sox season ticket packages….exchange for outfielder Ken Henderson and a young Steve Stone….(I’m really puzzled by this trade that took one of only three mainstay starters for team that already had several outfielders, what the White Sox needed were middle infielders)….Prized by the Giants who had suffered from aging and poor trades…Bradley pressed in a 13 win season 1973 as the Giants improved but ERA jumped to 3.90 as sign of thing to come….quickly lost effectiveness in subsequent seasons….last game was 1975.     

#326 Pat Kelly

Handy to have around....beneficiary of expansion and made the most of it....prototype of lead off hitter...specialty getting on base and stolen bases....Brother of Football HOFer LeRoy Kelly....started out serving time in Twins bushes....selected by KC Royals and settled into the right or centerfield spot....first year highlight of 1969 was 40 stolen bases and a .264 BA...an off year in 1970 resulted in trade ChiSox...1971: started at AAA where tore up the opposition at .351 clip...Called up July 1^st and transitioned nicely to .291 BA....gave the White Sox solid years thereafter hitting with a 273 clip....In 1977 took flight to Baltimore, where produced similar numbers prorated for diminished playing time....a born again Christian who became a licensed minister after his playing days were over in 1981...died of heart attack 2006

#361 Mike Andrews

Above average 2^nd baseman for 5 of 8 seasons...Rookie year of 1967 he was a contributor to the team’s road to the WS hitting .253...no votes for ROY....improved his hitting stats in 1968 when most of the league batsmen regressed in the year of the pitcher....around this time Andrews got involved with a Boston charitable organization “Jimmy’s Fund” for cancer research....numbers improved in 1969 hitting eight points short of .300...Average dropped to .253 in 1970 but Mike was able to improve power and RBIs figures.....Nevertheless traded to woeful Sox team in Chicago...Hit .282 in an admirable comeback....As in 1967, Mike’s new team made vast improvement from previous season....Andrews faltered in 1972 hitting a weak .220....Things didn’t get better in 1973 and Mike lost the starters spot to Jorge Orta....enter the bizarre ending of his career...sent to Oakland for their playoff run....made the post season roster....made two errors in game 2 prompting Charlie Finley to strong arm Mike into stating he injured so Rookie Manny Trillo could be called up....The stunt made headlines and Baseball Commissioner intervened and Andrews was reinstated to the roster....Finish from there on....had a brother, Rob play for Astros and Giants....for many years was  Chairman of the Jimmy Fund.

#381 White Sox Team

The  Pale-hose....Chisox....GoGoSox....Southside Hitmen....the Hitless Wonders....Black Sox....That other team from Chi-town...situated on the South Side...not revered as the cross-town Cubs, but nevertheless has endured since 1901 despite treats to leave, scandals, and infamous lows at on and off the field....As of this writing franchise is 151 games above .500, a winning average of a game and half per year ....team resume: three world series wins last one coming 2005....lost two championships.... team’s greatest period of success occurred in its first 21 seasons beginning at the onset of the American League 1901....concluding the 1920 season the team was 313 games above .500.... Starting in 1921, all the suspensions from the 1919 scandal hit home, namely the banning of Shoeless Joe Jackson....since then the Sox are 162 games under .500 ball....arguably the franchise did not recover until the 1950’s....good time kept up for most of the 60’s....a quick decline ensued that bottomed out with 56-106 record in 1970....the 1971 squad still had a losing record but made major inroads to respectability by improve by 23 games....Records:  the White Sox life long rep for less than stellar offense plus of presence of Superstars Frank Thomas, Albert Belle, Jim Thome, has opened the door for come close or set new team batting records....broken has been doubles, home runs (many times over!), RBIs, at bats, and total bases....Some pitching records have fallen but most have not.... Chris Sale and Jason Bere broke the team strikeout and win/loss percent records respectively....most surprisingly however Wilbur Wood 88 games set in 1968 still stands.

#413 White Sox Rookie Card

The card shows two short timers….Don Eddy and Dave Lemonds; non descript hurlers that were both done with the majors in 1971 and 1972 respectively…. Eddy never got out of rookie status….had two great minor league seasons to his resume…an 18-3 record in Class A ball 1969…In characteristic White Sox fashion (see Rich Gossage) makes the 1970 White Sox team….returned to minors and a had 1.06 ERA in AAA….prompted another opening day roster in 1971 stayed with the club the first three months … returned to minors and had a 6.84 AAA ERA…. Given this probably didn’t deserve spot on a rookie card…Time with the White Sox decent in a limited role 2.36 ERA…Lemonds' claim to fame is one at bat, one hit 1.000 BA….Dave stayed with the club for duration of 1972…relief initially leading to spot starts....4-7 plus a 2.95 ERA…general assumption is injured in 1973 because he pitched 8 innings total in AAA....failed in comeback 1974 toiling in the White Sox then Cubs farm clubs....in summary minor league body of work was run of the mill…first worked in the Cubs system and was a pitcher of record in 1969.

#452 Ed Herrmann

No, not the Actor and History Channel documentary narrator...But Spelled same way....Catcher for White Sox.then various other teams....oddly enough career best season was his sophomore campaign when the Chisox were at their worst, 1970....19 home runs, 52 RBI’s and .281 BA  in 294 at bats all career bests....Teamed nicely with Duane Josphepson giving the team a surplus of talent at backstop...like manny of peers of the time, clean cut at first later grew a beard and longer hair....power numbers were strangely consistent in subsequent years....10 home runs, near 40 RBIs...BA fluctuated to .214 to .259...was named to all star team 1974 despite semi regular status....1975 was sent to Yankees as mostly as a part time DH....kept moving on in 1976 splitting a season between Angels and Astros...got in regular work with Houston....relegated to backup for Houston next season and Expos in 1978....Passed away in 2013 a year before the Actor Ed.

#476 Lee Richard

Bee bee...a 1970 high draft pick pressed into service with big club within a year...part of a plethora of candidates to replace the traded Luis Aparicio...1971 started in starting role...hitting declined to .231 and was sent to minor for a few games....got called back up in Sept but hitting remained the same.....In many ways he was overwhelmed....was caught stealing more than stolen bases...dubiously led the AL shortstops in errors despite playing only 87 games...never really got the chance he had in 1971 again...spent most of career in minors getting call up from Chicago in 1972, 1974, and 1975....traded to St. Louis in 1976....much of the same...hit .176 in 91 at bats...released but continued a few years in the minors....hit very nicely, .300 for AAA Iowa in 1977, in younger days would have brought more notoriety for a big club.

#499 Vicente Romo

Interesting.... 7 seasons in major is just a portion of his career when compared to 15 years in Mexican League...in addition two full years in Cleveland chain....adds up to  a 24 year professional career....Played in native Mexico at age 19 in 1962...after 3 seasons tried his hand with Cleveland’s AAA club in Portland 1965....Returned to Mexico where he won 17 games in 1966....next season another try with AAA Portland is a floundering effort but stays in the States....Picked up Dodgers in Rule 5 draft and makes his MLB debut with them April 1968....pitches one game one inning....sent back to Cleveland and after a stint in the minors becomes a regular in the pen....Rookie season turned out to be his best with a nifty 1.62 ERA and 12 saves....dealt to Boston early 1969....takes the role of spot starter and 2^nd reliever next to Sparky Lyle... wins 7 games for the Red Sox in remaider of 1969 and 1970....Traded to White Sox for 1971....ERA improves to 3.35 over two seasons and fashions a 4-7 record....Traded to Padres for another two year stop....7-8 4.08 ERA.....Returns to Mexico....after 7 ¼  seasons south of the border he is purchased by the Dodgers, his debut club....gets in 15 games in 1982 and returns to Mexico for 4 more years....career line W-L 32-33, 54 saves, 3.36 ERA.

#525 Carlos May

Younger brother of Lee May....but played in a different manner....more speed and line drives....a fixture in either the White Sox outfield or first base....most famous for being able to play effectively despite losing part of a thumb while in military service during his rookie year...Incident occurred in later 1969....that season infused a then traditionally hitting challenged team with a .281 BA and 18 home runs....from then on hit better for average in each season pinnacling in 1972 with .308....1973 BA dropped somewhat  but had career bests in home runs (20) and RBI (96)..... numbers became more pedestrian in subsequent seasons.....after poor start in 1976, exiled to Yankees where he was a semi regular as he brought his BA up to above lifetime average....could not repeat in 1977 as he served as a reserve....in 1978 took his bat to Japan were he feasted on pitching for 3 seasons.

#539 Terry Forster

Let’s get it out of the open and state the quote from the glib David Letterman...”Fat tub of goo” when in later phase of his career when Terry weighed in at 270 pounds...at the time of 1972 card he was 20 years of age and a trim(er) 210 lbs....Like a lesser Rich Gossage both were a product of the White Sox’s successful overhaul of their pitching staff headed by coach Johnny Sain...OK rookie season of 1971 give his age....Shined in 1972 as the pitching staff made further gains....had 29 saves and was named to all star team....the following years were a mixed bag tarnished by injuries (1975, 1979-81) and  two failed ventures to a starting role (1973, 1976)....1978 was a standout 22 saves, 1.93 ERA closing out a very strong Dodger starting staff...Terry’s years in Atlanta 1983-86 represented his best effort for any team; a 2.29 ERA in 127 games...finished off career with California Angels 1987....exceptionally good hitter, unusual for a relief pitcher, with .397 BA the all time best mark for a player over 50 At Bats....ever.

#553 Wilbur Wood #554 In Action Wilbur Wood

A transformation…and a man whose success was influenced by others....a few pitchers can go from starter to bullpen with no loss of effectiveness…stranger yet to go from the league’s most prominent fireman to starter….Move was the brainchild of pitching coach Johnny Sain who at that time oversaw at least one 20 game winner for every each team he coached…started a string 4 20+ win seasons…lead AL in several categories most significantly back to back 24 wins….games started, innings, and the downside losses….the journey started as a obscure off speed pitcher who couldn’t break in with the Red Sox and Pirates…was able to impress in the minors however and more importantly the White Sox brass…. knuckleball was refined by Hoyt Willhem…the rest is history…rapidly rose to ranks of the top and most used reliever in the majors…problem was the Chisox were winning very few games…his dramatic switchover to starter was found in very few careers….spent last few years in battling the effects of getting hit by a batted ball….last season went 10-10 for Chicago.