Chicago White Sox baseball from the old Comiskey Park in 1978. Featuring Harry Caray and Bill Veeck as told by Bill Nigut and Videographer Garry Willis
Its was so cool watching this then to my surprise the segment of autograph seekers there is a boy with glassesand a white t-shirt and low and behold that boy is ME!!!!!!!! How cool is that.
Thanks for this video. I have been a lifelong Sox fan since 1956 when I was 10 years old. Went to hundred's of games there. Was there on the last game in 1990. It was a beautiful day, the Sox won but you could feel the sadness in the park knowing that you could never go there again. I have countless stories I could tell about the Sox and Comiskey which would be very interesting to a Sox fan but there are too many. I l love any video from Comiskey and those years. Thanks again for sharing this.
Thank you for posting this video. I am a huge Sox fan , I live 130 west of Chicago but have attended hundreds of Sox games. This was an era where you didn't have much tape footage and it is fun to see these memory's of Comiskey and the 70's White Sox.
So nice to see again. Thanks for the post. Very nice times there, especially night games. Games would start at 8:00. You wouldn`t get out of there till 11:30 or later. Centerfield wall was 445 feet away. Harry and Jimmy were a real hoot in the TV booth. They were sooo funny. Could bounce things off of each other like nobody else. Remember Harry in a funny exchange asking Jimmy, "Jimmy, did you take your pill today ?" Remember "Rent a Player"s, Ritchie Zisk, and Oscar Gamble. And, the P. T. Barnum of baseball, Mr. Bill Veeck. Miss them all.
To me, the greatest thing about Comiskey Park was the scoreboard they had from 1960-1981. Watching it light up like a birthday cake with the fireworks exploding was THE HIGHLIGHT of every White Sox game for this fan. I wish they would focus on the scoreboard's celebration instead of the batter rounding the bases.
There's a younger Harry CAREY with jimmy Piersal at the 2 min. Mark . Was more better when the music was minimal and tickets easier to buy when free agency was young
I'm still amazed by baseball crowds in the 70s and 80s almost none of them wore 'team merch' they are all in their normal clothes....now you go to a game and everyone has on the team merch
Hooray, Ron Blomberg! And hitting a home run! I forgot he played for the White Sox. I remember him on the Yankees. He was supposed to be the next Hank Greenberg, but all he ever led the league in was pulled muscles. That popcorn vendor at 1:08 is wearing an outdated Sox helmet. He needs to get on the stick! I bet the kid in the Jimi Hendrix shirt at 0:57 was at Disco Demolition night.
What was the date of the first post-game firework show that was ever held at Comiskey Park? I am not talking about the "exploding scoreboard". I suspect Bill Veeck wanted not only fireworks from the exploding scoreboard, but I think he wanted fireworks displayed publicly after certain Sox games to keep Chicagoans from setting off illegal fireworks. I am speculating that the first firework show, probably came in 1975 or 1976 when Bill Veeck wanted to make the old Sox Park sort of a mixture of a circus and a funhouse.
The Atlanta Braves had their firework shows at the old Altanta Fulton County Stadium in the late 1970s too. Not just Comiskey Park's White Sox. The Braves organized such post-game firework shows under such names like "Atlanta's Biggest Blast" and "DC Sky Concert". I wonder if other ballparks in the late 1970s had their own post-game fireworks. At least a few others.
Charles Smith The White Sox had "The Exploding Scoreboard" in 1960 that shot off fireworks when the Sox hit a home run. I'm not sure when fireworks shows started.
The reason for the fireworks and the bling in the scoreboard was that Bill Veeck was thinking of some TV comedy show that involved a pinball machine that went really, really wacko when somebody broke a record on that machine. Flashing lights, marquees, and part of the pinball machine seemed to blow up, Veeck says. That was Veeck's reason for this scoreboard. The other reason for the scoreboard is to entertain crowds even when the Sox had a losing game or a losing season.
I CAN tell you that the final post-game firework show at that park, Garry, was on September 29, 1990. It happened after the last night game at the old ballpark on that date. Part of it is on CZcams. Shells used were very big - almost like the fireworks you see in the summer at Navy Pier. That firework show was the biggest for one big reason - and we all know it......
They ain't wearing no freaking masks in that place without facing serious repercussions. Used to love how fights would break out at will, Harry boozing upstairs. The best of times when the South Side Hit Men roamed!
Most of my friends are Cubs fans, and when I say that Harry Carey announced for the Sox, they don't believe me. Thankfully I just search it on my phone and show it to them.
Zisk fell apart in August of 77 just when the Sox needed him most as they were only 3 games or so behind KC. I did not want him around for '78. On the other hand, I always liked Oscar.
oh... those uniforms, their best uniforms were before these with the red pinstripes, never forget going to those games and seeing dick allen smoking a cigarette in uniform, and basically doing what ever he wanted, he "flourished" as they say in that non-conformist environment and the sox were looking playoff bound, unfortunately an injury and dispute with ron santo ended all that, would have been real interesting seeing how allen would have fit on a veeck team.
Yeah, that's true, but for me, the best year was '59 when the Sox wore classic baseball uni's, and there was no organ music, and the outside was still just dirty dark brick! Early Wynn, Minnie, Big Klu, Al Smith, Louis, Nellie, Jims Landis and Rivera, to name a few off the top of my old head. Fun! Comiskey was Chicago!!!!
@@gmaneis before my time but my dad and his brother loved the go go sox. i go back to the tommy john, wilbur wood, joel horlen, carlos may, dick allen, bill melton sox, as a little kid i saw mickey mantle at old comiskey/white sox ball park, his last year, he pinch hit so he could say good bye to the fans. got to see luis aparicio too. not the best teams but they had their moments, never forget wilbur wood winning both games of a double header.
In this video, Ron Blomberg hits a home run against Texas. Playing right field on that homer for the Rangers was Bobby Bonds, who earlier that same season (1978) played for the White Sox. Bonds performed so poorly for the Sox in his short stint in Chicago, the fans were unmerciful on him when he came back and played in Comiskey Park. In this clip, you can see a fan taunting him after the ball lands in the seats. He was quoted in an interview saying he did not want to go out there. Poor guy!
Ironic he was hated even as the bling from the exploding scoreboard - the lights, hollering, hooting, and fireworking - was given directly in honor of Ron for his solo shot into the right field stands.....
@@robertmasina4610 I went to a game with only about 500 other fans in 1969. Not a fun area to be in after a game at night. Bill Melton was the Sox star then. Lead the team in homers. I think management must have cringed each time he hit one at Comiskey and they had to spend money on those fireworks!
@Brian Pederson The only Bulls game I went to was Valentine's Day 1970 vs. the Lakers. I remember the Bulls winning 82 to 80, but the online record shows a very different score. Weird how memory can trick a brain! Anyway, the barn was not even half full, but the game was exciting and the organ music was magnificent!
The fan going down the slide is the best part of this video. My God what a women!
She looked very nice and thick
My favorite players who I remember was Lamar Johnson, Chet Lemon, Alan Bannister, Jorge Orta, Ralph Garr....
"This is one of the few places where I've had fights with my fists other than the rock concerts." Lmfao gotta love the SOXsiders.
Its was so cool watching this then to my surprise the segment of autograph seekers there is a boy with glassesand a white t-shirt and low and behold that boy is ME!!!!!!!! How cool is that.
Thanks for this video. I have been a lifelong Sox fan since 1956 when I was 10 years old. Went to hundred's of games there. Was there on the last game in 1990. It was a beautiful day, the Sox won but you could feel the sadness in the park knowing that you could never go there again. I have countless stories I could tell about the Sox and Comiskey which would be very interesting to a Sox fan but there are too many. I l love any video from Comiskey and those years. Thanks again for sharing this.
My God do I miss that place
This was my favorite era of the White Sox the Bill Veeck years, especially with these beautiful uniforms.
I loved Comiskey Park.
Thank you for posting this video. I am a huge Sox fan , I live 130 west of Chicago but have attended hundreds of Sox games. This was an era where you didn't have much tape footage and it is fun to see these memory's of Comiskey and the 70's White Sox.
I love those old Sox unis!...From a California Angels Fan!
Wow, so many memories. Thanks for sharing!
If they had spent the money on building the new park on rehabbing the old one, they would have drawn a lot more fans the past 30 years.
Great look at the old ballpark and the Sox in the late 1970s.
Sox games back then were like a mix of baseball, a Grateful Dead concert and WWE.
So nice to see again. Thanks for the post. Very nice times there, especially night games. Games would start at 8:00. You wouldn`t get out of there till 11:30 or later. Centerfield wall was 445 feet away. Harry and Jimmy were a real hoot in the TV booth. They were sooo funny. Could bounce things off of each other like nobody else. Remember Harry in a funny exchange asking Jimmy, "Jimmy, did you take your pill today ?" Remember "Rent a Player"s, Ritchie Zisk, and Oscar Gamble. And, the P. T. Barnum of baseball, Mr. Bill Veeck. Miss them all.
To me, the greatest thing about Comiskey Park was the scoreboard they had from 1960-1981. Watching it light up like a birthday cake with the fireworks exploding was THE HIGHLIGHT of every White Sox game for this fan. I wish they would focus on the scoreboard's celebration instead of the batter rounding the bases.
Those uniforms!
'Your favorite player interviewed'...they show Paul Molitor lol
In fairness, Milwaukee's not that far from the Windy City. Good chance there were some fans of the Brew Crew at the game.
Back then the White Sox actually wore white sox
And soon who would appear on the scene but Eddie Einhorn and Jerry Reinsdorf...
WFLD Channel 32
Night games
Harry popping beers on air
There's a younger Harry CAREY with jimmy Piersal at the 2 min. Mark . Was more better when the music was minimal and tickets easier to buy when free agency was young
0:55 Dude's got on a Jimi Hendrix t-shirt.
I'm still amazed by baseball crowds in the 70s and 80s almost none of them wore 'team merch' they are all in their normal clothes....now you go to a game and everyone has on the team merch
Please say merchandise
In the city of Chi.
Hooray, Ron Blomberg! And hitting a home run! I forgot he played for the White Sox. I remember him on the Yankees. He was supposed to be the next Hank Greenberg, but all he ever led the league in was pulled muscles. That popcorn vendor at 1:08 is wearing an outdated Sox helmet. He needs to get on the stick! I bet the kid in the Jimi Hendrix shirt at 0:57 was at Disco Demolition night.
@0:45, That Yard Pimp Paul Molitor. Hell yeah.
By the time this video ended, I started smoking.
Too bad that in 1978 the team didn't repeat the outstanding season of the previous year's South Side Hitmen.
Too bad we can say the same 9 out of 10 seasons🤣😣🥲
When I was in 8th grade 1982 I met Nancy while she was playing the organ and got to talk to her for awhile. I wanted to marry her after 😂😢
Nancy Faust was an absolute gem.
Bill Nigut. I remember him from WSBTV in Atlanta.
Love this
ANDY FRAIN!!!!!!!
That dude at 1:00 was Arnold horseshack !!
😂
Look at Chesty Morgan win that egg toss! #HeyAtLeastItsNotTitsMcGee!
What was the date of the first post-game firework show that was ever held at Comiskey Park? I am not talking about the "exploding scoreboard". I suspect Bill Veeck wanted not only fireworks from the exploding scoreboard, but I think he wanted fireworks displayed publicly after certain Sox games to keep Chicagoans from setting off illegal fireworks. I am speculating that the first firework show, probably came in 1975 or 1976 when Bill Veeck wanted to make the old Sox Park sort of a mixture of a circus and a funhouse.
The Atlanta Braves had their firework shows at the old Altanta Fulton County Stadium in the late 1970s too. Not just Comiskey Park's White Sox. The Braves organized such post-game firework shows under such names like "Atlanta's Biggest Blast" and "DC Sky Concert". I wonder if other ballparks in the late 1970s had their own post-game fireworks. At least a few others.
Charles Smith The White Sox had "The Exploding Scoreboard" in 1960 that shot off fireworks when the Sox hit a home run. I'm not sure when fireworks shows started.
The reason for the fireworks and the bling in the scoreboard was that Bill Veeck was thinking of some TV comedy show that involved a pinball machine that went really, really wacko when somebody broke a record on that machine. Flashing lights, marquees, and part of the pinball machine seemed to blow up, Veeck says. That was Veeck's reason for this scoreboard. The other reason for the scoreboard is to entertain crowds even when the Sox had a losing game or a losing season.
I CAN tell you that the final post-game firework show at that park, Garry, was on September 29, 1990. It happened after the last night game at the old ballpark on that date. Part of it is on CZcams. Shells used were very big - almost like the fireworks you see in the summer at Navy Pier. That firework show was the biggest for one big reason - and we all know it......
Pittsburgh Three Rivers Stadium has many fireworks shows in the 70s.
Ahh yes 1978 back when people kept their wordholes shut and lived their own lives and stayed out of each others business. God I miss it.
Yes, Jimmy Carter was a decent, moral man and definitely better than president we had between 2017-2021
They ain't wearing no freaking masks in that place without facing serious repercussions. Used to love how fights would break out at will, Harry boozing upstairs. The best of times when the South Side Hit Men roamed!
too bad comiskey is gone.....would have made a great baseball trip to go to comiskey and wrigley in the same week
Reinsdorf took care of that.
I went to both in the same day on one of those rare occasions when both teams were in town at the same time.
Saw Cubs Dodgers and Sox Yankees on the same day.
I am guessing Harry Caray is the guy who unites the White Sox and Cubs fans since he was the announcer for both at one time or another.
Cub fans forgave a lot considering Harry was also a Cardinals announcer.
Cubs and Sox fans dont unite. Cub fans are retarded.
Came to Chicago in 1971 . To the White Sox. Cubs in 1981.
Brian Williams Some had to say it! Go Sox
Most of my friends are Cubs fans, and when I say that Harry Carey announced for the Sox, they don't believe me. Thankfully I just search it on my phone and show it to them.
Greatest uniforms ever!!
I hated those garish nile green seats. The powder blue seats of the 60's were the best.
I agree 100%
I believe there are a few games on here from 1974 and 1976 which show the powder blue seats
Oh BOO HOO !
The time when you could have smoked in the stadium while watching the game.
The 1978 season for the Sox was a disaster Richie Zisk and Oscar Gamble went to other teams and they couldn't find others to hit home runs
Zisk fell apart in August of 77 just when the Sox needed him most as they were only 3 games or so behind KC. I did not want him around for '78. On the other hand, I always liked Oscar.
oh... those uniforms, their best uniforms were before these with the red pinstripes, never forget going to those games and seeing dick allen smoking a cigarette in uniform, and basically doing what ever he wanted, he "flourished" as they say in that non-conformist environment and the sox were looking playoff bound, unfortunately an injury and dispute with ron santo ended all that, would have been real interesting seeing how allen would have fit on a veeck team.
Yeah, that's true, but for me, the best year was '59 when the Sox wore classic baseball uni's, and there was no organ music, and the outside was still just dirty dark brick! Early Wynn, Minnie, Big Klu, Al Smith, Louis, Nellie, Jims Landis and Rivera, to name a few off the top of my old head. Fun! Comiskey was Chicago!!!!
@@gmaneis before my time but my dad and his brother loved the go go sox. i go back to the tommy john, wilbur wood, joel horlen, carlos may, dick allen, bill melton sox, as a little kid i saw mickey mantle at old comiskey/white sox ball park, his last year, he pinch hit so he could say good bye to the fans. got to see luis aparicio too. not the best teams but they had their moments, never forget wilbur wood winning both games of a double header.
In this video, Ron Blomberg hits a home run against Texas. Playing right field on that homer for the Rangers was Bobby Bonds, who earlier that same season (1978) played for the White Sox. Bonds performed so poorly for the Sox in his short stint in Chicago, the fans were unmerciful on him when he came back and played in Comiskey Park. In this clip, you can see a fan taunting him after the ball lands in the seats. He was quoted in an interview saying he did not want to go out there. Poor guy!
Ironic he was hated even as the bling from the exploding scoreboard - the lights, hollering, hooting, and fireworking - was given directly in honor of Ron for his solo shot into the right field stands.....
Bonds was notorious for his lack of hustle.
william legue
This is kind of bizarre, who is this meant for? People who don’t know anything about baseball, foreign tourists?
I see the park was half empty again
Even with the exploding scoreboard erected? Ironic!!!!!
The team finished below .500 in 1978 so no surprise about the ballpark being half empty.
@@robertmasina4610 I went to a game with only about 500 other fans in 1969. Not a fun area to be in after a game at night. Bill Melton was the Sox star then. Lead the team in homers. I think management must have cringed each time he hit one at Comiskey and they had to spend money on those fireworks!
@Brian Pederson The only Bulls game I went to was Valentine's Day 1970 vs. the Lakers. I remember the Bulls winning 82 to 80, but the online record shows a very different score. Weird how memory can trick a brain! Anyway, the barn was not even half full, but the game was exciting and the organ music was magnificent!
@Brian Pederson Ha! That's awesome!
"Molly" at 0:47.
Those jerseys were horrific. The ones from 72 were nice. Should have kept them.
These were the best White Sox uniforms the 72 ones were boring these were exciting.
@@PredatorKingdom Nothing wrong with your opinion. I just feel these jerseys scream ‘70s.
Well, it WAS the '70s, after all. 🙂
Look at that empty stadium. Same thing 50 years later lol
baseball is dying just propped up by debt