The Chicago Athletics? That was the emergency plan.
Due to World War II travel limits, the White Sox open spring training in Indiana, along with the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs. More MLB teams end up training in Indiana than any other location.
After stepping in at the last minute to buy the franchise and prevent them from being moved to Seattle, Bill Veeck appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The headline read, “Baseball Couldn’t Shut Him Out.” Veeck owned the team for five years in his second stint — longer than his more storied tenure with the Go-Go White Sox.
Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley (a big Sox fan) was instrumental in contacting Veeck to see if he would get involved, as Daley did not want to see the club relocated. The original plan by Major League Baseball was to move the White Sox to Seattle (thus ending the lawsuits filed by that city, King County and the state of Washington). Then Charlie Finley would move his Oakland A’s to the South Side.
