1983 World Series Run

Lore & Background

After the White Sox went through a winning streak around the All-Star break, Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader said the White Sox '...weren't playing well. They're winning ugly.' This phrase became a rallying cry for the team, and they are often referred to as the 'winning ugly' team (and their uniforms as the 'winning ugly' uniforms).

In Their Own Story

October 1983. The last out of the fourth game. Wrigley Field is a cauldron of noise, the October air sharp and cold against the faces of twenty thousand people who have been screaming for four innings. A young pitcher in the Sox uniform steps onto the mound, sets his glove, and stares down the batter at the plate. The crowd noise is a living thing, a wall of sound that vibrates in your chest. He delivers. The swing is a blur. The glove snaps shut. And then the field erupts—bodies colliding, caps flying, a first baseman carrying a shortstop onto the mound while the stands simply lose their minds. Somewhere in the chaos, a manager in a windbreaker is lifted onto a teammate's shoulders, his face a mask of disbelief and pure, unfiltered joy. The scoreboard reads 4-0. The season is over. The wait is over. And for one long, golden night, Chicago belongs to the White Sox.

Reader's Guide

The team's home ballpark was Comiskey Park. The manager was Tony La Russa, who was named American League Manager of the Year. Key players included LaMarr Hoyt (American League Cy Young Award winner), Ron Kittle (American League Rookie of the Year), and Floyd Bannister. The team lost the American League Championship Series to the Baltimore Orioles 3–1.

Did You Know?

• Ron Kittle set a club record for most home runs by a rookie and led the league in strikeouts with 150.
• LaMarr Hoyt won the American League Cy Young Award.
• The 1983 All-Star Game was held at Comiskey Park on July 6, 1983, and the American League defeated the National League 13–3.
• The White Sox won the American League West championship on September 17, 1983.