Roland Hemond

In all probability, the White Sox can still call Chicago home because of the work of two of its general managers, Frank Lane (1949-1955) and Roland Hemond (1970-1985). Lane engineered the Go-Go Sox, Hemond helped keep the Sox from going to Milwaukee or Seattle. According to his SABR biography Lane moved some 690 players in just over 400 deals. For the Sox, he acquired Luis Aparicio, Nellie Fox, Minnie Minoso, Billy Pierce and Sherm Lollar. That’s three HOFers, if you’re counting, and one HOFer in waiting. Lane fueled a first-division resurgence for the Sox that stretched from 1951-1967. One of his successors, Ed Short, drafted a bunch of players Hemond would put to good use. That group included Bucky Dent, Brian Downing, Terry Forster and Goose Gossage. Hemond traded for Dick Allen, a move that revied the franchise for several seasons in the early ’70s. By the time Bill Veeck reacquired the team in 1976, the Sox were operating on a frayed shoestring Veeck did little if anything to improve upon. So, Hemond was forced to trade away young talent rather than lose it via free agency. The thing of it is, with the exception of shipping off Forster and Gossage to the Pirates for Richie Zisk, Hemond got young talent in return. Bucky Dent netted LaMarr Hoyt as well as Oscar Gamble (who teamed with Zisk to form the foundation of the South Side Hitmen of 1977 fame) while Brian Downing brought Richard Dotson in return. After Jerry Reinsdorf led a group that bought the team from Veeck in 1981, Hemond had money to work with. This allowed him to buy Greg Luzinski from the Phillies and sign Carlton Fisk as a free agent; Luzinski and Fisk would form the heart and soul of the 1983 division winners. Hemond also had a way of identifying players undervalued by other teams. Think Scott Fletcher, Rudy Law and Vance Law, among others. In addition, Hemond also had a knack for finding value in the scrap heap. He signed Eric Soderholm (later traded for Ed Farmer) and Ron Kittle as free agents, as in nobody else wanted them, while acquiring the likes of Jim Kaat and Tom Seaver. Did I mention that Hemond hired Tony LaRussa in 1979 to manage the Sox? Jerry Reinsdorf is on record as saying his biggest mistake was firing LaRussa. No, it wasn’t. His biggest mistake (outside of razing Comiskey Park) was firing Hemond, only to replace him with Hawk Harrelson as general manager. Talk about your classic brain cramp. Hemond died Sunday at age 92. I wasn’t even a glimmer in my parents’ eyes when Frank Lane was hired, an incoming college freshman when Hemond and Chuck Tanner both went to work on the South Side. Time flies. How I wish it didn’t.