Anniversaries

Clare was pretty excited about the ten-year anniversary of the World-Series winning 2005 White Sox, especially after she learned five players would be appearing at Frank Thomas’ restaurant down the street from us.  That was until she found out it would cost to the tune of $200 for five autographs.  But I’m sure it’s all for a good cause.

Anniversaries can be tough on teams as well as fans.  The Sox also had a 10-year anniversary in 1969, bringing back heroes from the ’59 pennant winners.  Only the date—July 20^th—coincided with Neal Armstrong’s moonwalk.  And the team stunk, to the tune of 94 losses that year.  A little over 13,000 fans, including yours truly, showed up that afternoon to see their Sox drop a doubleheader to the first-year Royals.

A year later—July 19, 1970, to be precise—future HOFer Luis Aparicio was given a day by an even worse Sox team (56-106).  At least they managed to beat the Orioles before an “overflow” crowd of 18,587.  The moral of the story here is that some things are better commemorated alone, like the first ballgame your dad took you to (June 6, 1962, Sox over Angels) or the first game with your daughter (June 17, 1997, Sox over Cubs, yes!).  Those anniversaries can be celebrated without scheduling conflicts or the embarrassment caused by comparing then to now.