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 anything...

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 to...

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 threats...

July 21,1974
vs. Milwaukee Brewers
at White Sox Park

The Chisox catch fire after Bart Johnson's masterful two-hit game against the Tigers, though not right away. They lose 3 in a row to the Brewers, the first two in the final at-bat, before going 8-1 in their next nine, including a 7 game winning streak.This pushes their record to 48-44 going into this Sunday doubleheader vs. the Brewers, the last two before the All-Star break.

It was Ball Day at White...

July 7,1974
vs. Detroit Tigers
at Tiger Stadium

Bart Johnson seemed ticketed for superstardom following his 1971 season, in which he went 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA. In those 12 wins were two games with 12 strikeouts. He possessed a blazing fastball that earned him the nickname Mr. Smoke. He also possessed a "red ass" and had a penchant for getting deep under the skin of his opponents, having precipitated three bench-clearing dust ups that season.

Things...