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The Chicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox team was founded by Charles A. Comiskey who was the first baseman in his home town, Chicago.
In 1900 the old American League formed, and Comiskey started the White Sox with a group of players. The White Sox team was first managed by Clark C. Griffith, who nicknamed his players "Boy Wonders," and his team lived up to that name. That year, the White Sox won the American League Pennant.
In 1901, the American League included more teams, such as Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, Boston, and Washington, and it is now the American League we know.
In 1906, there was a big game between the Sox and the Cubs. The Cubs had power, but the Sox had pitching. The Cubs had won a whopping 116 games that year, so they were a big favorite. The Sox had won 93 regular season games. They were named the "Hitless Wonders" because of their lousy batting record that year. To make up for their batting problem, they had amazing pitchers. Frank Owens won 65 games in three seasons, Nick Altrock won 20 games in the 1906 season, and Guy Harris White won 18 games. They were all ready for the powerful Cubs. The score was the same, until the 5th inning, when the Sox batting came to life. They had a 2-1 lead that held off until the 9th inning, and the Sox won that first game.
The Sox went into the sixth game of the series, leading three games to two. If they had one more victory, they could win the all-Chicago World Series. 23,257 screaming fans watched in South Side Park. In the first inning, Cub pitcher Mordecai Brown was chased from the mound with and eight-hit White Sox barrage. The Sox won and easy 8-3 victory, and were able to call themselves the best baseball team in Chicago, and the world!
Comiskey, the owner of the team, was so thrilled, he gave his team a $15.000.00 bonus. It was a miracle, some people said, that the Hitless Wonders beat the big bats of the mighty Chicago Cubs.
Miracles don't happen everyday, it turns out that the White Sox didn't win another trip to the World Series until 1917, but there would be enough highlights to keep the teem abuzz.
In 1908, Big Ed Walsh, the Sox' powerful righthander, set an all time record by defeating the Boston Red Sox, nine times in a single season. He loved to pitch under pressure.
Clarence Rowland joined the White Sox in 1915 as the new manager. His 1915 team finished third in the American League, a signal that the Sox were moving on.
In 1917, sure enough, the White Sox rolled up those 100 wins. Leading the batters was Happy Felsch with a .308 average, Joe Jackson witha .301. Eddie Cicotte made a big difference, but the glory should go to Red Faber.
Having won the A.L. pennant, the Sox played against the New York Giants at the World Series. The Giants had won the National League with ease, and predicted to destroy the Sox. Instead, 16-game winner Red Faber beat the Giants three times, and the final score came out 4 games to 2.
Click here to see the official Chicago White Sox web site.