Today in White Sox History: March 13
Players get named for the first time.
1960
The White Sox became the first team in MLB history to permanently print player names on the the back of their jerseys. It was another Bill Veeck innovation, only done on road jerseys, met with some resistance from players, but soon adopted across baseball.
2000
White Sox slugger Frank Thomas was again featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A lengthy story talked about his career, the controversies and his desire to return to the top of the game. The headline stated, “Don’t Question My Desire. Frank Thomas Comes Out Swinging.”
Thomas would have a spectacular 2000, missing a chance to win his third AL MVP after losing in a narrow vote to the A’s Jason Giambi, who’d later admit to using steroids in grand jury testimony. Frank’s numbers in 2000 included a .328 batting average, 43 home runs, 143 RBIs, 112 walks and a slugging percentage of .625 for the team that led the American League in wins with 95.