Zeke Bonura

It was probably 2018, when Daniel Palka blazed through the South Side during his only full season in the majors. Palka could hit balls very far and did it often enough that the TV broadcasts started to show an updated list of most homeruns by a White Sox rookie. Somehow, Clare caught a game I missed and saw a name she was sure nobody born before 19XX had ever heard of. The quiz ensued, and I responded, “You mean Zeke Bonura?” For the next two or three years, every game seemed to have a graphic with Bonura’s name on it. And who was Zeke Bonura? A first baseman who spent the first four years of his seven-year career on the South Side; and, just like Daniel Palka, Bonura could hit the ball far. But he could also hit for average, which would explain his .317 BA and .396 OPB for the Sox. In addition, he averaged 110 RBIs during his time on the South Side. Why they traded him at age 28 is beyond me. Not long ago, I saw a Willard Mullin-like cartoon of Bonura—“The Bull of the Sockyards”—for sale on eBay. Zeke is shown driving a car with teammates on the roof, with the notation he was voted most popular player in Chicago and awarded a car “for driving home so many mates”; on the auction block for holding out each spring; and throwing some leather at first base despite being “heavy-legged.” The cartoon I had to have, and I do. I framed it for display in the basement. Before I took it downstairs, Michele sent a picture to Clare to let her know this is both a Palka and Bonura household.