The "T" (South Side L)

Lore & Background

The 1910 White Sox were historically inept at the plate, posting the lowest team batting average in the modern era. Their leading hitter, Patsy Dougherty, managed only a .248 average, and no regular reached .250.

In Their Own Story

It's a Saturday in late September, 1974. The air smells like cut grass and the faint sweetness of the hot-dog stands. You're twelve, riding the Blue Line with your grandfather, and he's got his Sox cap pulled low, eyes half-closed, swaying with the car. He doesn't talk. He doesn't need to. You both know the rhythm: the lurch at the curve, the hum of the wires, the particular groan the track makes when it crosses the bridge over the expressway. At 35th Street he tugs your sleeve. You step off together, and the ballpark is already there, the outfield fence catching the low sun, the crowd a low roar like the 'T' itself. He buys you a beer—well, a Coke, you're twelve—and you walk in. The diamond is green and perfect. The whole South Side is in the stands. You are, for the next three hours, exactly where you're supposed to be.

Reader's Guide

The team played at South Side Park until July 1, 1910, then moved to White Sox Park, which remained their home for 80 years.

Did You Know?

• The 1910 White Sox set the modern major league record for lowest team batting average at .211.
• Patsy Dougherty led the team's regulars with a .248 batting average.
• The team moved from South Side Park to White Sox Park on July 1, 1910.