Recently, Chicago magazine, like many publications and websites, has become enamored with lists of various things. In its November issue, the list is titled "Top 40 OMG Moments in Recent Chicago History", subtitled:
MOUTH WIDE OPEN: We pick the 40 moments in recent Chicago history that made you stop, blink, and say, "Oh my God!"
Moment #30, at the top of this link, is titled "Sox Come Up Short", and chronicles what it says to be the one game in White Sox history where owner Bill Veeck, always up for a gimmick, had the team wear shorts:
August 8, 1976
Bill Veeck introduced shorts into the uniform lineup, which the team wore once — during the first game of a double-header against the Kansas City Royals at Comiskey Park. The players were ridiculed. “You guys are the sweetest team we’ve seen yet,” quipped Kansas City first baseman John Mayberry.
Other online and print sources all say that was the only time it happened -- but as it turns out, there is evidence that isn't true. After the jump, check out a YouTube video that shows definitively that it happened at least one other time.
This five-and-a-half minute video, complete with somewhat bizarre background music, clearly shows the White Sox playing the Baltimore Orioles while wearing shorts. At about 2:30 into the video, you can freeze the scoreboard and show the score of the game and the other teams playing that day.
The scoreboard as seen in that video matches only one date -- the games of Sunday, August 22, 1976. The board shows the Orioles leading the White Sox 2-0 in the seventh inning -- Baltimore eventually won that game 6-2, the first game of a doubleheader.
So we know there were at least two games where the White Sox wore shorts during the 1976 season. Were there others? Did you see such a game? If you know, post your reply in the comments.