The White Sox from Comiskey to Reinsdorf. Champaign: Sagamore, 1994

178 Aethlon XII:2 / Fall 1995 Richard C. Lindberg. Stealing First in a Two-Team Town: The White Sox from Comiskey to Reinsdorf. Champaign: Sagamore, 1994. xxx + 274 pp. $19.95. Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox, avers, "I would rather win and break even than finish second and make $20 million." What a lovely antithesis to H. Wayne Huizenga, owner of the Florida Marlins, who asserts, "I'm in it for the money, not to make the fans happy." And although Reinsdorf is often viewed negatively by Chicagoans as "an introspective self-made Jewish guy with Brooklyn roots," the White Sox under his leadership have become a contending team with a new stadium and a growing fan base. Richard C. Lindberg, White Sox team historian, has chronicled the team from its inception through its midnight stay of emigration in his new book. The first half of the book details the Comiskey family from Charles' playing days, dismissed by his alderman father, through the last days of family ownership - the team left to son John Louis following the Old Roman's death in 1931, then Grace, Dorothy, Book Reviews 179 and Chuck - including commentary upon the Scandal of 1919. Lindberg dismisses those details of player-serfdom which have led many fans to believe that the Black Sox athletes had no other choice but to succumb to gamblers. In a twist of folkloric truths, the author suggests thatComiskey "was one of Chicago's most warmly regarded public figures throughout his lifetime. Commy would frequently reward players down on their luck with cash bonuses, with little or no fanfare coming from the press. He took a chance on players considered over the hill, and provided them with one last crack at fleeting fame." As for Bill Veeck, the Barnum of Baseball, Lindberg suggests that, for him, the White Sox were merely a "commodity" - gone was the "emotional attachment and personal identification between a team and a city [ that] can only come when an owner purchases a team and remains true to the fans over the long haul." Briefly mentioned are Arthur Allyn, John Allyn, and Jerry Reinsdorf, who together owned the team for twenty-seven years. Interspersed with owners and players are splintered sections covering sports- writers, announcers, relocations, and Chicago politicians, as well as the last minute - and possibly illegal - reprieve of new Comiskey Park. Lindberg's writing is generally specific and detailed; however, it is also pejorative and biased. Dorothy Comiskey is a "whiner," Grace Comiskey is guided by "malice," Dick Allen is a "prima donna superstar." Linda S. Joffe.

Load more