In 1975, White Sox owner John Allyn was broke and placed under enormous pressure from fellow owners to sell his club to Seattle interests and undercut a lawsuit which Seattle had against them.[1] The Seattle lawsuit was directly related to the American League owners' approval of moving the Seattle Pilots franchise to Milwaukee. The AL owners also planned to appease Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley by making Chicago available to his A's.[1] Charlie wanted out of Oakland and had years earlier tried to buy the Sox. Everyone was lined up against John Allyn and Chicago's Sox fans.
As fall turned to winter in 1975, Bill Veeck emerged as leader of the sole investment group intent on saving the club for Chicago and its Sox fans.[1] The AL owners reluctantly agreed to his offer and later voted to expand the league to include an expansion franchise in Seattle, Washington. Veeck purchased 80% of the White Sox, effective December 18, 1975.
With the new ownership, the White Sox changed team colors from red to navy and the uniform style was modified early twentieth century, with collared, untucked jerseys.[6] The AstroTurf infield (1969–1975) at Comiskey Park was removed and replaced with natural grass.
August 8: The White Sox took the field wearing shorts instead of traditional baseball pants during the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals.[7][8][9] Despite winning the game 5–2, the shorts were such a disaster the White Sox dressed in pants for the second game, which they lost 7–1.[10][11]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
^"Jeff Holly". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^"Steve Trout". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^"Willie McGee". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^"Lorenzo Gray". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^"Blue Moon Odom". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^"Wayne Nordhagen". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^"Phil Roof". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^"Minnie Miñoso". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
^Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN978-0-96-371897-6.