Go Go
The “Go-Go” White Sox of 1959 were the second best team in baseball, having lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was beside the point. They were entertaining to watch. After second place finishes in the American League in 1957 and 1958, ’59 was a make or break year. The biggest event surrounding this watershed year was Bill Veeck’s acquisition of the team. Veeck, a consummate baseball man and showman was going to bring some razzle dazzle into old Comisky Park, figuring if you can’t blind them with foot work, baffle them with showbiz.
Al Lopez was the manager of the team. His resume includes the fact that he was the only manager to stop the Yankees domination of the American league between the years of 1949 and 1964. Lopez managed teams won the pennant in 1954 (Cleveland Indians) and 1959 (White Sox). Watching the White Sox take on the Yankees was intriguing. Old Brooklyn Dodger and New York Giant fans paid them the backhanded compliment that they "...played baseball like National Leaguers". It was true. Their approach was to get men on, hit behind the runner, sacrifice, and do what you could to manufacture runs. This was in sharp contrast to the American League teams of the day who subsisted on three run home runs.
The characters that populated the White Sox roster were colorful too. Nelson Fox, a tobacco chewing little second baseman who hit .306 with a “bottle bat”. It was so named because the handle was almost as thick as the barrel. Luis Aparicio was as smooth a fielding shortstop as I have ever seen. It seemed like he barely touched the ball before it was on its way to first base. He also had mastered the technique, as so many shortstops of the day had, of beating the runner by a half step. These guys were career killers, you always ran hard for the whole 90 feet, only to have your heart broken. Luis also led the league in stolen bases that year and was the genesis of the “Go-Go” philosophy. Aparicio and Fox were the “gold standard” middle infield combination, having both won gold gloves in ’59.The rest of the speed on the White Sox was provided by the outfield. Jim Landis, a smooth striding center fielder covered the huge Comisky Park outfield like he owned it. “Jungle” Jim Rivera, Landis and Apparicio always had the green light to run, regardless of the game situation.
Catcher Sherm Lollar was a gold glove winner that year too. He also contributed 84 RBI’s and 22 home runs to the cause. He was the antithesis of “Go-Go”, however.
In fact, no announcer ever mentioned Sherman Lollar without prefacing it with the phrase “painfully slow”. None-the-less, he was a lynchpin of the ’59 White Sox.
The pitching staff boasted Cy Young Award winner Early Wynn, Billy Pierce, Bob Shaw, Barry Latman and Dick Donovan. Turk Lown and Gerry Staley were the bullpen, and all the relief that Lopez required. The Sox won 94 games that year. It seemed that each pitcher delivered in crucial situations throughout the year. It was one of the best balanced pitching staffs in history. The White Sox won 35 out of 50 one run games in 1959.
Three rookies were on that team, who would go on to become stars for other teams later on in their careers. Norm Cash would become the starting first baseman for the Tigers, Earl Battey would be the catcher for the Twins and Johnny Callison would go on to play outfield for the Phillies and Cubs. Each would appear in World Series games and make the All Star team. The team was rounded out with veterans Al Smith, Billy Goodman, Earl Torgeson and Sammy Esposito.
Interestingly, Veeck also took a page from the Yankee book. He stocked his team with veterans for the stretch run and the World Series. He acquired Del Ennis, Harry “Suitcase” Simpson, Lary Doby and Ted Kluszewski. They were the final ingredients that locked the pennant down.
I remember watching games from Comisky that year. In addition to the quality, “National League” style baseball, the ballpark itself was a show. Bill Veeck fashioned an environment like none before. The scoreboard exploded each time a White Sox home run was hit. Rockets would fire out of tubes running up the back of the scoreboard. There was a hole in the middle of home plate that blasted air across the plate to clean off dirt. The umpire stepping on a button behind the plate activated this. I will always remember Yankee catcher Johhny Blanchard in the batters’ box, with a pitch on the way, when the umpire inadvertently stepped on that button. Blanchard dropped the bat and ran up the third baseline. In addition, a basket adorned with the face of a rabbit with light up eyes came up out of a trap door behind home plate. The basket held new baseballs for the umpire.
The circus atmosphere was just part of the story. The White Sox became the favorite team for New York’s disenfranchised National League fans because they beat the dreaded Yankees. Beyond that, they were destined to play the much-hated carpet bagging Dodgers in the Series. This Series had a real them vs. us quality to it.
Our hopes soared as the Sox beat the Dodgers 11 to 0 in the opening game. This, we thought, was going to be easy. The Dodgers went on, however to win games two, three and four. Game five was a game to remember. The Sox won 1 to 0 in the Los Angeles Coliseum. They headed back to Comisky for game six with great expectations. Newspapers were filled with stories of the titanic battle that was to be game six. We couldn’t wait. But, by the fourth inning, the Dodgers led 8 to 0 and went on to win the game 9 to 3.
The Sox haven’t come close since. Of late, the Sox have been relegated to seeing their players sold off in talent "fire sales" by owners who are far removed, in years and inspiration, from the great Veeck. The ’59 season and the ’59 White Sox are fond memories of the way the game is meant to be played. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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