The Sox Problem That Never Goes Away

A hot topic among fans in White Sox Nation these days has to do with the current ownership of the Chicago American League Ball Club.

This is, of course, hardly a new topic. Instead, this has been an ongoing soap opera and point of contention that rises and falls among fans and the media depending on the mysterious things that Sox management always does at any point in time.

Is there any wonder why any ballplaying free agent wouldn’t think twice about joining such an environment?

The thing is... the Sox ownership issue has ALWAYS been there. All the way back to the beginning of the franchise in Chicago.

From 1900 through 1959, the Sox were owned by members of the Comiskey family. It is widely understood that Charles Comiskey - famous for owning the Sox during the time of the Black Sox scandal - was not well liked by players and was not particularly generous in the salary department. Things did not noticeably change after the team was passed to other family members.

Bill Veeck - a true baseball man - owned the team for a short period around 1960 and then again in the late 1970s. But he was always underfunded and could not build a strong franchise.

The other owners were in the Allyn family and their claim to fame was in trying to sell the Sox to out-of-town interests who likely would have moved the team out of Chicago.

And for almost the last 40 years, we have the current ownership of the team.

What a list.

In business, you learn that you are only as good and successful as are your owners and company leaders. Looking at things from this perspective, is it any wonder why the White Sox have been mired in mostly losing seasons and public mediocrity for many generations? They hardly have stood a chance.

The real question for Sox fans now is not about how well the rebuild is doing and whether or not to boycott the team. The real question is will the Chicago American League Ball Club EVER have ownership that matches the passion and dedication of White Sox fans who have stood by this team in "thick" and mostly "thin" for almost 120 years?

We know all the reasons to enjoy baseball. We all have reasons why we became Chicago White Sox fans. But the ultimate fate of the team is always out of our hands.

Maybe someday, the White Sox will have owners that realize that there is another ball team in town that they need to compete with effectively, let alone the rest of the American League. Maybe someone who will honor the great tradition of South Side major league baseball and the great Sox fans. Somebody like a Bill Veeck but with enough money to raise the level of the franchise to the level of baseball blue bloods.

Anything short of that sets up the next 120 years to be exactly like last 120 have been.