Steve Stone had an unusual Chicago career in that he has flipped between the two franchises several times, as both a player and an announcer.
Stone started in Chicago in 1973, joining the White Sox from the Giants in a trade for Tom Bradley. He went 6-11 for the Sox, which meant he was ready to join the Cubs.
Topps 1974 Steve Stone
1974 Topps Traded - Stone wearing a Giants uniform and an airbrushed hat
Topps 1975 Cubs - an interesting angle
Topps 1976
He came to the north side in December of 1974 as part of one of the biggest trades between the two teams, the Ron Santo trade. Stone was one of four players the Cubs received for their All-Star third baseman. His best year with the Cubs was 1975, when he posted a 12-8 record. He hurt his arm in 1976 and made only 17 appearances. He was granted free agency in November of 1976, the Cubs letting him go because of his arm troubles.
On the South Side this was the era of Bill Veeck's rent-a-player (trade for a big name player who is a year away from free agency - and not have to give up too much, ie Richie Zisk and Oscar Gamble) and the signing of low risk free agents, players who had some injury risk and weren't getting many offers (ie Eric Soderholm, Ron Bloomberg). Steve Stone was another low risk signing.
Topps 1977 - bad airbrushing strikes again. The collars on the Sox uniforms gave the Topps artists real fits. It looks like this picture was taken the same time as the picture on the 1976 card, at Candlestick Park
Topps 1978 - dig the disco hair and chains
Stone had a nice comeback in 1977, going 15-12 for the Sox. He went 12-12 in 1978 and was again granted free agency. Proving himself healed of arm trouble, he had priced himself out of Bill Veeck's budget and he left Chicago as a player for good, signing with the Orioles.
His sell your soul to the devil season was 1980, when he went 25-7 with Baltimore, winning the AL Cy Young Award. His success was due in part to his heavier reliance on the curveball, which ruined his arm. He slumped to 4-7 in 1981 and was finished as a player.
In 1983 Stone returned to Chicago, joining Harry Caray in the WGN TV booth as the color man. He spent from 18 years in the booth and was extremely popular. Health issues forced off the air after the 2000 season. He returned in 2003 and 2004, but ran into some controversy with several players who thought he was too critical. The 2004 was a season of great expectations for the Cubs, coming off their near-miss of the pennant in 2003. Greg Maddux was added to the rotation and Nomar Garciaparra was added at mid-season. But the team underperfomed and Stone called them out on it. They players whinned to management and the this ticked Stone off. He resigned after the 2004 season.
After working three years with a sports talk radio station in Chicago, Stone headed over to the south side as a radio color man for the Sox. In 2009 he will move into the TV booth and join Ken Harrelson, provided there is enough room in the booth for both of their enormous egos to fit.
North side and south side as both a player and a media personality, Stone has spent the better part of 35 years in Chicago.
The 1974 Traded seems to be a picture from his SF time. It certainly pre-dates the picture on his regular 1974 Topps card.
ReplyDeleteStone got a raw deal as the Cubs broadcaster. Under the Dusty regime, players were never at fault and some didn't like Stone's assessments (which often included criticism and rightly so).
Hawk and Stone might have big egos, but I am looking forard to listening to them.
Stoney is brilliant. He needs to be a GM someday.
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