First South Side home-run champ, and longtime broadcaster, passes away at 79
He was an All-Star, an American League home run champion, and later if life a rarity: an honest pre- and postgame host covering the White Sox on television.
Former White Sox third baseman Bill Melton passed away after a short illness Wednesday night in Phoenix, at the age of 79.
His passing stunned the White Sox family, with tributes coming in from different individuals including Chuck Garfien, his longtime co-host on the Sox pre- and postgame broadcasts: “Finding it hard to express the passing of our friend and White Sox hero Bill Melton. He died overnight in Arizona after dealing with some health problems recently. The White Sox — and White Sox fans — were like family to him. He broke the mold in many ways. RIP Beltin’ Bill Melton.”
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf also remembered Melton fondly, in a statement released by the team:
“Bill Melton enjoyed two tremendous careers with the White Sox. His first came as a celebrated home run king for White Sox teams in the early 1970s, where ‘Beltin Bill’ brought power to a franchise that played its home games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Photos of Bill wearing his home run crown and others of him posing with ballpark organist Nancy Faust still generate smiles to this day. Bill’s second career came as a well-liked and respected pre- and postgame television analyst, where on a nightly basis Sox fans saw his passion for the team, win or lose. Bill was a friend to many at the White Sox and around baseball, and his booming voice will be missed. Our sympathies go out to his wife Tess, and all of their family and friends.”
Melton was born in Mississippi but grew up in Southern California. One of his earliest memories of the White Sox was attending the 1959 World Series at the Los Angeles Coliseum, when he was 14.
He was signed by the Sox and made his big-league debut at the age of 22 on May 4, 1968, in a 4-1 Sox win over the Yankees at Comiskey Park. Melton had a sacrifice fly and an RBI single that day off of former Sox pitcher Fred Talbot.
The 1970 season, though, was when Melton started to blossom and reached a team milestone late that season: On September 21 he blasted an upper deck home run at Comiskey Park, off Kansas City’s Aurelio Monteagudo (another former Sox pitcher), to give him 30 for the season. Melton was the first Sox hitter ever — that’s a stretch of 70 seasons, remember — to slam 30 home runs in a single year. He finished 1970 with 33 home runs and 96 RBIs.
In 1971, Melton was named to the All-Star team in Detroit, although he didn’t play in the game. By the end of the season, the slugger set his sights on another milestone: Winning a home run title.
On the next-to-last day of the year, Melton blasted a pair of home runs against Milwaukee to give him 32 for the year. That tied him with former Sox infielder Norm Cash of the Tigers and Oakland’s Reggie Jackson. But the year was over for both Cash and Jackson, while Melton had one final game the next afternoon at Comiskey Park, again against Milwaukee.
White Sox manager Chuck Tanner, knowing what was at stake, tweaked his lineup and installed Melton at leadoff in case he needed an extra at-bat or two.
As it turned, out it wasn’t necessary.
In the third inning, Melton saw a pitch from Milwaukee’s Bill Parsons and launched it into the lower deck, giving him 33 on the year and the home run title — the first White Sox player to ever do it. Tanner let him take the field at third base the next inning, then replaced him in the lineup as the crowd of 2,814 gave him an ovation. Melton’s homer stood up as the difference-maker in a 2-1 season finale win.
“The game started at noon and I hit a home run,” Melton recalled. “Being the first White Sox player ever to lead the league in home runs and the first White Sox player ever to hit 30 homers — it sounds so minute now. But at that time, it was a pretty good feat.“
The 1972 season saw Dick Allen join the White Sox. Baseball Digest put Allen, Melton and Carlos May on the cover with the caption, “The New Murderers Row.” And for awhile, it looked like that could come to pass.
But the previous offseason Bill was working on his patio roof at his home in California. His son was actually on the roof while he was on the ladder, re-nailing some shingles. His son started to slide towards the edge when Melton caught him, but the momentum caused Melton to fall backwards off the ladder and land on his tailbone. He suffered herniated discs, which dramatically impacted him in the first part of the 1972 season. The Sox tried everything, including lower back injections with papaya extract, but nothing helped; Melton went on the disabled list in late June, done for the year after only 57 games.
The Sox would finish only 5 1⁄2 games behind Oakland, who went on to win the first of three straight World Series titles.
Years later, Tanner was asked if a healthy Melton ensures the White Sox a Western Division that season? “Damn right we win it; we were right there, and that’s not saying anything bad about Ed Spiezio, who did a fine job for us.”
Spiezio was the third baseman that GM Roland Hemond acquired from the Padres to try to replace Melton.
In the spring of 1973, Sports Illustrated featured Melton on the cover with the caption, “Chicago Comes Out Swinging.”
Melton worked very hard to come back from the injury, which required surgery to fix, and had an outstanding 1973 season with 20 home runs, 87 RBIs and a .277 average. But he was never quite the same player.
By the time the 1975 season rolled around, Melton was openly feuding with the club’s main broadcaster, Harry Caray. Caray wasn’t shy about criticizing Melton for his play, including his base running.
Things reached a head in Milwaukee when Melton and Caray got into a shouting match at the Pfister Hotel in front of fans and patrons.
Melton gave his side of the story to the Chicago Tribune: “I’m tired of going everyplace and hearing that Caray is jumping all over me on every broadcast. Then he comes over to me real sarcastic and says, ‘What’s wrong, is little sweetheart Billy upset over something?’ I could have popped him one.
“The people of Chicago are down on me now, but I just want them to know that I’m trying,” Melton continued. “I’m busting my butt. I’m not trying to strike out, I’m not trying to pop up, I’m not trying to be traded. But if I was, the reason I’d be happiest to leave is because of that man [Caray] upstairs.”
Melton got his wish, as he was traded to the Angels on Dec. 11, 1975, along with pitcher Steve Dunning for first baseman Jim Spencer and outfielder Morris Nettles.
Melton would finish his career in 1977, with a brief stint for Cleveland.
Melton returned to Chicago as he started working on the team’s pre- and postgame shows, first for WGN in the late 90s then moving over to Comcast Sports Chicago and the cable variations where he remained until retiring in 2020.
Ironically, Bill was candid and didn’t hold back when criticizing the play of the team or an individual ... but there was a difference in his mind between what he was saying and what Caray was doing back in the 1970’s: “[Caray’s] criticism was more personal,” Melton said in 2005. “If I made it a personal issue, I wouldn’t be in the business. The media exposure now is huge, and anything can be taken out of context.”
Melton, of course, was around to celebrate the White Sox World Championship that same season.
In six full and two partial seasons in Chicago, Bill hit 154 home runs and drove in 535 RBIs. He held the In four seasons he had at least 86 RBI’s. He passed Minnie Miñoso in 1974 to become the franchise’s all-time home run leader, an honor he held until Harold Baines hit his 155th home run during the 1987 season.
Melton is survived by his wife, Tess; son, Billy; daughter, Jennifer; a grandson, and many extended family members.
