September 8,1974
vs. California Angels
at Anaheim Stadium

The Sox continue to slog along at .500, a team neither here nor there. At this point pennant dreams have long since evaporated and the Sox are playing for second place, their second straight disappointing season after 1972 had ended with so much hope.

Bee Bee Richard, the shortstop that at one time was supposed to make everyone forget Luis Aparicio, was the star of this game. Bee Bee had spent...

September 2,1974
vs. Kansas City Royals
at Royals Stadium

The White Sox of the early 1970s had their problems with pitching. Wilbur Wood was never one of them. The knuckleballer had been the solid anchor of a sometimes shaky rotation since the moment that Chuck Tanner and Johnny Sain had made him a starter before the 1971 season. Wood quickly became the iron pitcher with the rubber arm, and Chuck's favorite go-to guy. He hurled over 300 innings from 1971-73 and from...

August 25,1974
vs. Cleveland Indians
at White Sox Park

Well, Chuck's loud dressing down of the team earlier in the month may have set a few players' ears to ringing, but it didn't translate on the field. They continued to slog along at .500, while up in the booth Harry Caray and his 1974 sidekick Rob Waller turned up the criticisms for what they deemed indifferent play.

The Sox went into this Sunday DH with the Indians at 61-63, and there really wasn't...

August 16,1974
vs. New York Yankees
at Shea Stadium

Just when Sox fans thought the team was pulling it together, raising their mark to 49-45 before the All-Star break, the team went out and proved them wrong. They stumbled out of the gate at the start of the second half, going 1-6 in their first seven and were 3-9 after 12 games, the last of which was a 12-5 thrashing at the hands of the Rangers.

This last loss prompted Good Buddy Chuck to close the door...

August 4,1974
vs. Texas Rangers
at White Sox Park

The biggest story in baseball, if not all of sports, in 1974 was Hank Aaron's pursuit of Babe Ruth's career home run record of 714. Aaron went on a hitting binge in the past couple of seasons and ended the 1973 campaign with 713, one short of the almighty Babe. The hype and pressure on Aaron as he entered the 1974 season were enormous. Several stories ran on the adversity Aaron faced in the race to 715, including death...