White Sox honor late owner, HOFer Veeck by wearing shorts pregame

CHICAGO -- The White Sox celebrated their late owner and Hall of Famer, Bill Veeck, throughout Saturday’s 3-1 loss against the Guardians. Fans were able to participate in several gameday activities on Bill Veeck Night.

Here are a few of the things fans could enjoy at the ballpark Saturday:

• A pregame petting zoo at Gate 5, including photo opportunities with a two-toed sloth named Stella
• A skydiving ballpark entrance ahead of first pitch
• Mike Veeck (Bill’s son and former Major League Baseball executive) threw out a ceremonial first pitch
• An on-field “Married in a Minute” ceremony between the third and fourth innings, where two lifelong Sox fans tied the knot in just 60 seconds -- officiated by 1983 AL Rookie of the Year Ron Kittle
• A live ice sculpture carving on the outfield concourse
• Free haircuts from a local barbershop, available on the outfield concourse
• Postgame fireworks, presented by Village of Bedford Park

Veeck no doubt left an impact on the White Sox organization during his two tenures as owner. His first stint as owner came from 1959 to 1961, where he helped lead the White Sox to an American League pennant title in his first year in the owner's chair.

Although Veeck sold the team due to health reasons in 1961, he re-bought the team in 1975. Following more than a decade away from baseball, Veeck was right back where he belonged. His second stint as owner lasted from 1975 to 1981 before he sold the team in January 1981.

Veeck also lent a helping hand in getting rid of the color barrier in baseball after he signed Larry Doby in July 1947, while he was Cleveland’s owner. Veeck then signed Satchel Paige to that same team one year later.

“It’s been cool, myself, to come to this organization and learn about him and what he meant to baseball and Chicago and just the game of baseball itself,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “So, certainly cool to celebrate him and good for everyone to learn a little bit about him.”

During his time as owner of the White Sox, Veeck was known to think outside the box to give fans a gameday experience they would never forget. He invented the exploding scoreboard back in 1960 and had his players wear shorts for some games in 1976.

Those shorts made a comeback pregame before Saturday’s contest against the Guardians, as the entire team honored the late owner by wearing pinstripe shorts.

The decision to wear shorts pregame on Bill Veeck Night comes almost 49 years to the day that the owner announced his team wouldn’t wear the usual long pants. On August 8, 1976, the White Sox took the field in navy blue shorts while donning their classic white collared jerseys.

To no surprise, the White Sox became the first team in Major League Baseball history to wear shorts in a professional game that day. Those shorts were officially back pregame before Saturday’s contest in honor of the former owner.

“The shorts are cool,” Venable said. “They’re certainly short. It’s always fun to do something different, and honoring Bill Veeck, obviously, is good too.”