Fifty years later, White Sox take on the Dodgers again
On paper, it's just another interleague series for the White Sox, who host the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games beginning Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
But for Sox fans old enough to remember actually getting off the couch and changing the TV channel by hand, dialing the telephone and reading morning and afternoon newspapers, it's much, much more.
Fifty years ago, the White Sox and Dodgers hooked up in the World Series. Even though the Sox fell 4 games to 2, Don Zminda remembers it well.
"The White Sox competed with the Yankees throughout the 1950s, and they usually came up short," said Zminda, who edited the book "Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 White Sox."
"In 1959, the White Sox were a working-class team and even though they had three Hall of Famers (Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Early Wynn), none of the three would be considered dominant players by today's standards," Zminda continued. "They didn't have real big-names players. They didn't hit much, but they had great pitching and defense. Old Comiskey (Park) was a pitcher's park, unlike the new (U.S.) Cellular (Field). The '59 team was built to play in old Comiskey."
While advancing to the 1959 World Series for the first time in 40 years, the Sox finished sixth out of eight American League teams with a .250 batting average and were second-to-last with 97 home runs.
How did the White Sox win 94 games?
Speed was a huge factor - the Sox stole 113 bases, 45 more than any other AL team.
Aparicio led the way with 56 steals, and Fox was voted the AL's Most Valuable Player after batting .306.
At the age of 39, Wynn won 22 games and Cy Young Award honors.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, were still relative unknowns after moving to the West Coast from Brooklyn following the 1957 season.
"The Dodgers really weren't that good," recalled Zminda, who grew up on the North Side of Chicago but still pulled for the White Sox. "They were considered one of the weaker pennant winners, and the White Sox blew them out in Game 1 (11-0), which was really uncharacteristic for them."
Los Angeles won 4-3 in Game 2, and Zminda, who was 11 years old in 1959, said the Sox never were able to recover from the loss at old Comiskey Park.
"Sherman Lollar was thrown out at home plate by about 20 feet (in the eighth inning)," Zminda said. "That kind of changed the momentum and turned the Series around."
The Sox did recover - eventually. They barreled through the 2005 playoffs and swept the Houston Astros to win their first series since 1917.
"I think in 1959, the White Sox were just happy to be there because the Yankees were always so strong," Zminda said. "In 2005, the White Sox had to get through three rounds to win the Series, and they made it look pretty easy."