Today in White Sox History: January 31
Bo Jackson is going to California
1909
White Sox catcher Billy Sullivan secured a patent on the first chest protector. It contained a wind pad with compressed air and became the forerunner of the modern catcher’s chest protector. Sullivan was the White Sox catcher from 1901-14. Sullivan gets the patent one day before his 34th birthday.
1956
Buck Weaver died in Chicago, at the age of 65. He was one of eight members of the Black Sox to be banned from baseball for life, despite taking no money from gamblers. Until his death, Weaver maintained his innocence — and the record shows he hit .324 with 11 hits and was perfect in the field in the 1919 World Series loss to Cincinnati. Commissioner Landis ruled that Weaver should be banished from the game based merely on his knowledge of the fix; in that case, manager Kid Gleason, owner Charles Comiskey and scores of players from other clubs, previous and since, should have been kicked out of baseball.
1994
Bo Jackson left the White Sox, signing for $1 million with the California Angels.
Jackson staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in sports history by fighting through hip replacement surgery to return to the field in 1993 — dramatically hitting a pinch-hit home run in his first at-back in a White Sox uniform.
However, things soured a bit in the stretch run, as Jackson struggled through a terrible August and went 0-for-10 with three walks in the ALCS vs. Toronto. Jackson and George Bell were vocal about preferential treatment being given Dan Pasqua and were very critical of manager Gene Lamont.
The White Sox made a halfhearted attempt to re-sign Bo after the season, but ultimately let him go. Jackson returned to the White Sox as a team ambassador in 2014, and remains a White Sox fixture.
2003
The U.S. Cellular Company and the White Sox signed an agreement selling the naming rights to Comiskey Park. The deal was worth $68 million over 23 years. The money received by the club contained the stipulation that it could only be used on renovations and upgrades for the stadium — not, say, for signing free agents. As a result of said renovations, U.S. Cellular Field became one of the finest-looking stadiums in baseball.
Once U.S. Cellular no longer did any business in the Chicago area, the Guaranteed Rate company secured naming rights in November 2016.