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Why White Sox throwback uniforms will strike a chord

It wasn't easy being a White Sox fan from 1968-70.

Beginning with a 10-game losing streak to start the '68 season, the Sox went from perennial pennant contenders to doormats of the American League. They also were swept away in the “Cubbie” fever that infected most of Chicago with the Cubs' resurgence from two decades of futility in 1967.

Comiskey Park (then called White Sox Park) was a lonely place, with attendance bottoming out at 495,355 in 1970, when the Sox put up a franchise-worst record of 56-106. Beginning in 1968, the Sox shifted their TV games from good ol' Channel 9 to Channel 32, then a UHF station whose reception resembled a January snowstorm on many Chicago-area TVs.

In '69, the Sox even brought in the fences and installed an AstroTurf infield to get some offense and excitement going. They also played a handful of “home” games at Milwaukee County Stadium in '68 and '69, with perhaps an eye toward moving up north for good.

Things changed starting at the end of the dreadful 1970 season. Owner John Allyn named Stu Holcomb and Roland Hemond to run the front office, and they hired an unknown named Chuck Tanner to manage the ballclub on the field.

The Sox also brought in an announcer named Harry Caray to broadcast their games on radio, with the outlets at that time being WTAQ in LaGrange and WEAW-FM in Evanston. WMAQ-AM had dropped the Sox after 1970.

But there was something else coming for 1971: uniforms with red as the primary color. It was a startling change from the then-predominantly blue-and-white unis the Sox were wearing. At the time, the Sox said they were taking a page from the book of successful teams as the Reds and Cardinals, who wore red.

This week, the White Sox announced the team will wear throwback red-and-white uniforms for 13 Sunday home games this season, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the exciting 1972 season.

It's a great idea and one that seems to be resonating already with longtime Sox fans.

The red-and-white Sox uniforms of the day brought back the pinstripes the team abandoned for the 1969 and 1970 seasons. They also kept the iconic “Sox” logo. Even more startling at the time was that no longer would White Sox uniforms feature the players' names on the back (the Sox were pioneers in putting names on the uniforms in the early 1960s). The front office boldly proclaimed that the new-and-improved Sox players would become well known enough with their fans that names were not needed on the uniforms.

There are a couple of reasons I believe the throwbacks will be a hit. First, they'll remind us old-timers of a resurgent time in team history. The '71 team got out of the gate 3-0, taking a season-opening doubleheader at Oakland — that's right, a doubleheader — before coming home for a Good Friday Sox Park opener that drew an astonishing crowd of 43,253 for a 3-2 victory over the Twins.

The Sox faded quickly, regrouped and fell short at the end, improving to a record of 79-83, with Bill Melton leading the AL in homers with 33. Usually somnambulant TV announcer Jack Drees implored fans to “think big, think a million” (as in attendance) for 1971. The Sox fell short in that department, too, but better times were coming in those red uniforms, leading to the second reason I think the throwbacks will be popular: Dick Allen.

Hemond traded popular pitcher Tommy John to the Dodgers for Allen in December 1971. After some haggling over salary by Allen and a players strike to begin the '72 season, the Sox were on their way, with Allen having one of the greatest offensive seasons ever by a Sox player.

Allen won the MVP award in '72, batting .308 with 37 homers and 113 RBI. Remember, this was in the pre-steroids era, and the Sox didn't play in a hitter's ballpark.

Today, we'd give Allen's hitting line as .308/.420/.603 for an OPS of 1.023 and an OPS-plus of 199.

Always wearing his red batting helmet, in the field as well as at the plate, Allen absolutely thrilled Sox fans, hitting 1-iron shots over the bullpen fence in center field, running the bases smartly and playing a good first base.

That's how I'll always remember the Sox in those red-and-white uniforms.

The good times didn't last long. After giving the powerful Oakland A's all they could handle in 1972 and finishing second, the Sox fell out of contention early in '73. The 1974 season was forgettable (with Allen “retiring” late that year), and the Sox nearly went broke in '75, their last year in the red and white. Bill Veeck came back as owner for 1976 and put the Sox in pajama-like uniforms. The classic “Sox” look didn't return full time until 1991 for the new park, but since then, good guys have worn black.

So it'll be a big treat to see the Sox in red again this year on Sundays. Just as long as they don't bring back that old AstroTurf infield.

Bill Melton and Robin Ventura show off the 1972 Chicago White Sox uniforms that will be worn during Sunday day games throughout the 2012 season. Melton, left, was the American League home run champion in the 1971 season, the first year the team wore the new colors, and teammate Dick Allen won the MVP award in 1972 wearing the red uniform. Photo courtesy of Chicago White Sox/ Ron Vesely
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