Full Disclosure: I grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago in a family full of Sox fans, so I know more about the White Sox than a Cubs fan probably should know.
My question yesterday about the second team to install AstroTurf in their park was a trick question since the Cubs didn't actually install it on the playing field. The second team to actually put it on the field was .....the White Sox.
Well, sort of (again!). On St. Patrick's Day of 1969 the White Sox began installing artificial turf at White Sox Park. Called Sox Sod, it was an improved version of the original AstroTurf made by the Monsanto Company. The initial installation, at a cost of $100,000, put the surface in the infield only The outfield remained natural grass. It would have cost an additional $300,000 to turf the outfield, so that was left for another year.
But it never happened. That means from 1969 - 1975, Sox Park had a hybrid field of both grass and AstroTurf. Living on the south side in a Sox family meant more trips to see the Sox than the Cubs, so I saw many games at White Sox Park. (The Sox also gave away free tickets to 2 games to kids with straight A's or perfect attendance and you can't pass up free ticket, even if you are a Cub fan--you can always root for the opponent--and I did!) It was a strange site to see the fake green infield and the lush green grass outfield.
When Bill Veeck bought the White Sox after the 1975 season, one of his first acts was to rip out the Sox Sod and put grass back in the infield. In the meantime, many of the cookie-cutter stadiums of the late 60's and early 70's were built and they had complete fields of fake grass. It was only the White Sox that ever had the combo deal.
Here are some cards that show both the Sox Sod infield and the grass outfield:
The first two show the Sox Sod
Topps 1974 Mickey Lolich warming up in the infield in front to the Tigers dugout. If you look over his left shoulder, you can see the area where the Sox Sod stops and the grass begins. The grass is a darker shade of green
Topps 1976 Lee Richards, but everyone called him Bee Bee Richards. This gives you a good look at the lighter shade of green and the smooth surface of the Sox Sod.
Both of these cards give you a good look at the outfield grass. Extra credit points for anyone who can tell me about the signs overhanging the outfield roof.
Topps 1976 - Terry Forster
Topps 1976 - Bob Coluccio standing in the outfield, wearing his cool '70's shades and sporting a bushy '70s mustache.
One final question, can anyone tell me why the White Sox wore red uniforms, including red stirrups. Wouldn't that make them the Red Sox??
I had forgotten about the hybrid. I thought that was one of the stupidest (and cheapest) moves in baseball. I'm glad that they didn't fully integrate the Sox Sod. I'm not a huge fan of artificial turf.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the thinking was for the red uniforms or the red and navy, or the powder blue with red or any of the other odd color combinations in the early seventies. Maybe it had to do with the proposed moves to Milwaukee and Seattle back then.
While I can't answer your questions, I can tell you about the two ballparks in Wichita, Kansas. One is for Wichita State and the other is used by the Wichita Wingnuts, but used to be AA and AAA. Both of these parks are hybrids. I have no idea why the college's is like that, but the other one is becasue of the NBC tournament. They play baseball all day and all night for at least two days straight before teams start getting eliminated. So, they have the turf so the field doesn't take a pounding. But, both fields have the sliding pits instead of dirt infields.
ReplyDeleteThere's a few sites that discuss the changes to the White Sox uniforms, but I couldn't find one that said why they did it.
ReplyDeleteWhite Sox official history of their uniform
ESPN's Uni Watch
Which southwest suburb was it? I spent time in LaGrange in the mid-1980s and then out to Wheaton in the early 1990's.
I grew up in Oak Lawn
ReplyDeletegreat article !. As a professional in the artificial grass industry,
ReplyDeleteIt is also important to regularly clear to prevent dirt and debris from scratching the grass.
sod and artificial turf