I grew up a White Sox fan. I still have the ticket stub from the very first game I ever attended. Comiskey Park on August 17, 1963 against the dreaded New York Yankees. Yep, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra versus Nellie Fox, Hoyt Wilhelm, Jim Landis and Joe Horlen. As a kid, I didn’t yet understand that you couldn’t be a White Sox fan AND like the Yankees as well. But what kid didn’t like Mickey Mantle? 🤷♂️ My biggest memory from that August day? Nope, not a catching a foul ball or having Juan Pizzaro sign my program… It was eating too many 🌭 and getting a bit as they say under the weather! And that ticket? Purchased at a Sears store, seat location hand written… HAH! Now everything is electronic… pretty sad IMO. Like you can keep your Ticketmaster e-ticket stuffed away in your dresser drawer for 50 years. Memories are fleeting, and harder than ever to look back on these days…
The transition from being a fan in 1963 to covering the team as their Official Team Photographer has been a thrill I will never forget and cherish forever. When Steve Lyons made the final putout to close out the incredible history of Old Comiskey Park on September 30, 1990, it closed out a chapter in my own life as well. But that next chapter … 😲
