Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 12, 1990 TAG: 9007120076
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO LENGTH: Medium
Men wore bow ties and straw hats. The women came dressed in two-tone, ankle-length skirts with bonnets and parasols.
What a day for a baseball game.
It seemed like 1917 in the major leagues' oldest park, and for one day it was - sort of.
The Chicago White Sox, who are leaving venerable Comiskey Park after this season for a new model across the street, turned back the clock Wednesday for their game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The White Sox, who lost 12-9 in 13 innings, came dressed like the World Series champions of 1917 - the last Chicago team to win a World Series - with short-brimmed caps (for batting practice only), all white socks with no stirrups and a uniform with a bloused look.
Batters were announced by megaphone, even though Gene Honda's voice could not be heard into the far reaches of the sold-out park that was full of baseball fans and curiosity seekers.
There was no electronic scoreboard, at least not the modern one that is known for its fireworks displays after a White Sox home run.
In its place was a hand-operated model that cost the team $12,000. And those running it had to scamper for numbers Wednesday in the first inning when the home team put up four quick runs.
The project, the brainchild of marketing vice president Rob Gallas, cost the White Sox $30,000 for a one-day return to the early part of the century.
"We just wanted to recognize the last year of Comiskey without running around saying it all the time," Gallas said before the game - one originally knocked out by the owners' lockout.
"Our first idea was to take it back to 1910 when the park opened, but there is not that much difference in those periods," said Gallas.
The original version of the uniform worn Wednesday was unveiled for the 1917 World Series when the White Sox, led by Ed Cicotte and "Shoeless Joe" Jackson beat the New York Giants.
"I like them. I think we should wear it all the time," said Ozzie Guillen, the current White Sox shortstop. "It's better than the old ones."
Gallas said, "We didn't want to put in the old wool, but we had them bloused out about one inch."
Manager Jeff Torborg, whose team is in a mid-season pennant race of its own, wasn't bothered by the commotion of the promotion.
"This is a wonderful old park and a lot has been made of it," he said. "It's innovative and people have responded."
Torborg, though, wouldn't model one of the short-brimmed hats. He had one of the longer ones used for the game.
"I'm not sticking big ears into a little hat," he said.
Comiskey Park was loud and alive Wednesday, but not with modern-day music and advertising, although some was done before the game to meet business requirements. There were no lights at major-league parks in 1917, but they had to be used Wednesday because of overcast skies.
Gallas said his research shows that one of the biggest differences between ballparks of today and yesterday was what the fans could hear. One reason fans bought good seats was so they could hear announcements on the megaphone, ones that fans with cheaper seats could not.
"It was quieter then. No rock videos on the sound system, no TV monitors on the concourse. That's what we noticed most - no extraneous noise," Gallas said.
On Tuesday, the Dixieland band had people stomping and dancing and prompted one man, Paul Lauer of Dalton, Ill., to join in a rousing rendition of "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey."
"This is a great park and a great organization and I wouldn't miss this for anything," Lauer said.
Jack Baird, 68, of Chicago, was leading a barbershop quartet near the entrance to one of the clubhouses.
"Most of our music is pre-1920. We're just running around and singing like nobody's business," he said.
Organ grinder Bill Hoffmann and his 18-year-old monkey named "Adam Monk" were one of the main attractions, especially for the children near a long line for the nickel popcorn.
"This is just real exciting," said Hoffmann, as Adam Monk latched on to a quarter from one of his admirers.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB