PABLO OZUNA (38) IS WALKING ON AIR AS THE WHITE SOX CELEBRATE WINNING THE AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1959

It was the bottom of the eighth inning of last night’s pennant clinching White Sox win when the camera found him, the oldest living member of baseball’s storied Hall of Fame. The Sox had gone ahead in the top of that inning thanks to another intervention conducted by the Gods of Baseball whose interest in this year’s Chicago southside baseballers rivals that of of a mother bear for her cubs (small “c”). But when millions of fans watched as the lens focused on 97 year old Al Lopez, I’m sure there was more than one old timer who gave in to the urge to allow a wave of nostalgia claim their emotions and shed a tear for all of the empty, fruitless years of living in Chicago and being a fan of the Chicago White Sox.

For you see, Al Lopez was the 50 year old manager of the 1959 “Go-Go” White Sox who captured the hearts of the city along with the American League pennant, the last time a Chicago baseball team represented the city in the World Series. Lopez also had the distinction of managing the 1954 Cleveland Indians team that won an astonishing 111 games in a 154 game schedule, a record not broken until the Yankees won 114 games in 1998.

He managed the Sox during a golden era in the history of the franchise. The nine year period between 1957-65, saw the White Sox finish 2nd five times in addition to the 1959 pennant. He had the utter misfortune of first, managing during an astounding run by the New York Yankees where, under their mercurial manager Casey Stengel, the Bronx Bombers represented the American League in the World Series no less than 13 times in the 15 year period encompassing 1949-64. Secondly, he managed before the advent of the playoff system so that despite tremendously successful 90+ win seasons (98 wins in 1964 finishing 2nd to the 99 wins of the Yanks), only the winners of the American League and National League races ended up in post-season play.

Lopez managed in what most people consider to be the apogee of baseball’s popularity in America. It was also an era of virtual slavery for Major League players who, thanks to the “reserve clause” in every player’s contract, were bound to their team as surely as a slave was to his owner. And while this was very bad for the players of that era, it was very good for baseball fans. Teams were remarkably stable personnel wise so that fans knew year to year who was on the team, even what the daily lineup was going to be.

For the Sox of that era there was the flashy Venezuelan shortstop Louis Aparicio who perennially led the league in stolen bases. Then there was the workmanlike #2 hitter Nellie Fox. A great second baseman, Fox was nevertheless remembered for the great, bulging chaw of tobacco in his cheek that inspired tens of thousands of Chicago area children to imitate with a half dozen or so pieces of “Joe Palooka” bubble gum. Happy-go-lucky Minnie Minosa was a sheer joy to watch play the game as his infectious enthusiasm and broad, toothy smile lit up even the black and white TV’s of that era. And Ted Kluszewski – “Big Klu” – whose upper arms were so massive, he had to cut the sleeves off his jersey just so that he could swing the bat properly. There was Roy Seivers, “Jungle” Jim Rivera, Sherman Lollar, Jim Landis, and Ed Torborg. Not a real power hitter among them – at least none who could compete with anyone on the hated Yankees.

For pitching, Lopez brought with him an aging star from Cleveland, a hard nosed no-nonsense southpaw named Early Wynn. It was thought that Wynn’s best years were behind him. But in that magical year of 1959, the 39 year old Wynn picked up 22 wins. Bob Shaw (18 wins) Billy Pierce (14 wins), and Dick Donovan (9 wins) rounded out a starting staff that helped the team to a 94 win season.

But it was Lopez himself who set the tone for the team. With a quiet confidence, he set the league on fire with a speed game not seen since the depression era. The team played at old Comiskey park, a roomy, pitcher-friendly park with a centerfield and power alleys in the outfield where home runs went to die. He loaded up the team with a line up of quality defensive players who were willing to play together and sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Playing what is called a “situational game,” – bunting, putting baserunners in motion, stealing – the White Sox of 1959 may have been something of a joke offensively, but their pitching and defense along with excellent clutch hitting allowed them to beat out the Indians for the title.

Their World Series appearance turned out to be anti-climactic as they lost in 6 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first World Series played west of Missouri. But Chicago never forgot that team. And in the ensuing years as the Sox would come oh-so-close only to fade in the stretch or worse, the hated Yankees would catch fire and surpass them, both the young and the old could only look forward to the coming spring when hope would be reborn and the possibilities of the season were measured not in blooming flora and fauna but in whether or not the new kid called up from the minors could get the curve ball over for a strike.

Then came divisional play and for the first decade and a half, the Sox were shut out of the playoffs as the team’s fortunes plummeted along with the talent level of its once rightly respected farm teams. In a time when teams were spending tens of millions of dollars on talent at both the major and minor league level, Sox old-fashioned owner Bill Veeck tried to run the club on a shoestring. Finally, with the team in danger of being sold to a group in the Tampa-St.Petersburg area (now home of the Devil Rays), an ownership group headed up by real estate tycoon Jerry Reinsdorf bought the team and by 1983, had built a winner. The team that year made it into the playoffs, losing to eventual world champion Baltimore and their lights-out pitching staff.

In the next two decades, the White Sox were competitive but only managed two other playoff appearances. Neither team had much of a chance in the playoffs although the 1993 team competed well against eventual world champion Toronto.

The Bears won a Super Bowl in 1985. Then came the Bulls run of 6 championships in 8 years. Those championships won by the Reinsdorf-owned Bulls only whetted the appetite of the city for what the people really craved; a World Series winner.

Then came the hiring of the manic Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen and the oddly matched General Manager Ken Williams. Guillen was like a phosphorus grenade, ready to explode and burn at a moment’s notice while Williams was a pool of cool water, hardly a ripple visible to the public. Somehow, the two forged a prosperous relationship and built the current American League champs. How that relationship will play out when things get a little bumpier in the future may be entertaining to watch; something akin to a NASCAR race where many wait for the inevitable crash in turn #3.

For now however, all that counts is history and legends in the making. The White Sox have made believers out of the American League. But making converts of White Sox fans will take a little more work. After 46 years of disappointment, we can be excused if we tend to be a bit skeptical.