Who joins Pope Leo XIV among most famous White Sox fans?
It’s official: The White Sox have their most famous fan in franchise history.
Early reports noted Robert Prevost — a native of south suburban Dolton now known as Pope Leo XIV — as a possible Cubs fan. But evidence quickly cemented Prevost as a backer of the Sox.
As South Siders celebrate the news, this week’s High Five looks at other famous White Sox fans.
5. Steve Perry
The former lead singer of Journey became forever tied with the White Sox as they nursed their AL Central Division lead late in the 2005 regular season.
Powered by the sound of the Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believin’” blaring throughout their stadium, the Sox held off Cleveland to win the division. It became the team’s theme song, and Perry even joined the White Sox in the locker room after their World Series clincher over Houston in Game 4.
An enduring image from the Grant Park victory celebration featured Perry singing the iconic song with Sox players and the thousands of fans in attendance.
4. Jenny McCarthy
Model, actress, “Masked Singer” host … and White Sox fan.
McCarthy grew up on the South Side, attending Mother McAuley High School on 99th Street. In an interview with SiriusXM she talked about trudging through blizzards in an effort to achieve perfect attendance in grammar school and receive the reward of free White Sox tickets.
In that same interview, though, she’s wearing a Cubs jersey. So take it with a grain of salt.
3. Mr. T
Whether you know him as Clubber Lang from “Rocky III” or B.A. Baracus from “The A-Team,” Sox fans know him as one of their own.
Born Laurence Tureaud, he grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes, just blocks away from Comiskey Park, and played football at Dunbar High School.
Mr. T didn’t have the money to attend Sox games as a kid, but he threw out the first pitch in 1983 and returned to the ballpark through the years. There’s a great YouTube video of Mr. T going crazy over a Bo Jackson throw home in 1993.
2. Pablo Picasso
This is a little bit of a stretch, but here we go.
Picasso was commissioned to create a sculpture at Chicago’s Daley Plaza, a project unveiled in 1967. Known by locals simply as “The Picasso,” it’s recognized worldwide and has been memorialized in everything from “The Blues Brothers” to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
As part of the process of convincing Picasso to create the sculpture, he was gifted Chicago-themed memorabilia including a White Sox jersey.
1. Barack Obama
When you’re President of the United States for two terms, you earn the top spot.
Obama lived in Chicago for a few years in the 1980s and returned in the early 90s to teach at the University of Chicago Law School. He met his wife Michelle, a South Sider, when they worked together at a law firm in Chicago.
While he hasn’t been seen recently at Rate Field, Obama frequently rocks a White Sox hat. He threw out the first pitch at a 2005 playoff game, wearing a Sox hat and jersey, and wore a team jacket when he threw out the first pitch at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis.