1976 Chicago White Sox season

1976 Chicago White Sox

League| American League
Division| West
Ballpark| Comiskey Park
City| Chicago
Owners| Bill Veeck
General managers| Roland Hemond
Managers| Paul Richards
Television| WSNS-TV
Radio| WMAQ (AM)
(Harry Caray, Lorn Brown)
| <- 1975 | Seasons | 1977 ->

|
|

The 1976 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 76th season in Major League Baseball, and its 77th season overall. They finished at 64–97 (.398), the worst record in the 12-team American League. They were 25½ games behind the Kansas City Royals, champions of the American League West.

## Offseason[edit]

### New ownership[edit]

In 1975, White Sox owner John Allyn was broke and placed under enormous pressure from fellow owners to sell his club to Seattle interests and undercut a lawsuit which Seattle had against them.[1] The Seattle lawsuit was directly related to the American League owners' approval of moving the Seattle Pilots franchise to Milwaukee. The AL owners also planned to appease Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley by making Chicago available to his A's.[1] Charlie wanted out of Oakland and had years earlier tried to buy the Sox. Everyone was lined up against John Allyn and Chicago's Sox fans.

As fall turned to winter in 1975, Bill Veeck emerged as leader of the sole investment group intent on saving the club for Chicago and its Sox fans.[1] The AL owners reluctantly agreed to his offer and later voted to expand the league to include an expansion franchise in Seattle, Washington. Veeck purchased 80% of the White Sox, effective December 18, 1975.

### Notable transactions[edit]

* December 10, 1975: Jim Kaat and Mike Buskey were traded by the White Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Ruthven, Roy Thomas, and Alan Bannister.[2]
* December 12, 1975: Ken Henderson, Ozzie Osborn and Dick Ruthven were traded by the White Sox to the Atlanta Braves for Larvell Blanks and Ralph Garr.[3]
* December 12, 1975: Larvell Blanks was traded by the White Sox to the Cleveland Indians for Jack Brohamer.[3]
* December 12, 1975: Rich Hinton and Jeff Sovern (minors) were traded by the White Sox to the Cincinnati Reds for Clay Carroll.[4]
* December 12, 1975: Lee Richard was traded by the White Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Buddy Bradford and Greg Terlecky.[5]

## Regular season[edit]

With the new ownership, the White Sox changed team colors from red to navy and the uniform style was modified early twentieth century, with collared, untucked jerseys.[6] The AstroTurf infield (1969–1975) at Comiskey Park was removed and replaced with natural grass.

* August 8: The White Sox took the field wearing shorts instead of traditional baseball pants during the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals.[7][8][9] Despite winning the game 5–2, the shorts were such a disaster the White Sox dressed in pants for the second game, which they lost 7–1.[10][11]

### Season standings[edit]

* v
* t
* e

AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
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|

Kansas City Royals | 90 | 72  | 0.556  | —  | 49–32  | 41–40
Oakland Athletics | 87 | 74  | 0.540  | 2½  | 51–30  | 36–44
Minnesota Twins | 85 | 77  | 0.525  | 5  | 44–37  | 41–40
Texas Rangers | 76 | 86  | 0.469  | 14  | 39–42  | 37–44
California Angels | 76 | 86  | 0.469  | 14  | 38–43  | 38–43
Chicago White Sox | 64 | 97  | 0.398  | 25½  | 35–45  | 29–52

### Record vs. opponents[edit]

1976 American League record

* v
* t
* e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Team  | BAL  | BOS  | CAL  | CWS  | CLE  | DET  | KC  | MIL  | MIN  | NYY  | OAK  | TEX
Baltimore | — | 7–11 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 13–5 | 4–8 | 8–4
Boston | 11–7 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 3–9 | 12–6 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 3–9
California | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 11–7 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 12–6
Chicago | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 1–11 | 8–9 | 7–11
Cleveland | 11–7 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 9–3 | — | 6–12 | 6–6 | 11–6 | 9–3 | 4–12 | 4–8 | 7–5
Detroit | 6–12 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 12–6 | — | 4–8 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 9–8 | 6–6 | 5–7
Kansas City | 6–6 | 9–3 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–4 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 7–11
Milwaukee | 7–11 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–11 | 6–12 | 4–8 | — | 4–8 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 10–2
Minnesota | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 8–4 | — | 2–10 | 11–7 | 11–7
New York | 5–13 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 12–4 | 8–9 | 5–7 | 13–5 | 10–2 | — | 6–6 | 9–3
Oakland | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 9–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 6–6 | — | 7–11
Texas | 4–8 | 9–3 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 2–10 | 7–11 | 3–9 | 11–7 | —

### Opening Day lineup[edit]

* Chet Lemon, CF
* Ralph Garr, LF
* Jorge Orta, 3B
* Cleon Jones, DH
* Buddy Bradford, RF
* Jim Spencer, 1B
* Bucky Dent, SS
* Jack Brohamer, 2B
* Pete Varney, C
* Wilbur Wood, P

### Notable transactions[edit]

* April 6, 1976: Jeff Holly was released by the White Sox.[12]
* June 8: 1976 Major League Baseball draft
* Steve Trout was selected by the White Sox in the 1st round (8th pick).[13]
* Willie McGee was selected by the White Sox in the 7th round, but did not sign.[14]
* Lorenzo Gray was selected by the White Sox in the 8th round.[15]
* June 15: Pete Varney was traded by the White Sox to the Atlanta Braves for Blue Moon Odom.[16]
* July 14: Rich Coggins was traded by the White Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wayne Nordhagen.[17]
* August 9: Phil Roof was selected off waivers by the White Sox from the Minnesota Twins.[18]
* September 10: Minnie Miñoso was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.[19]

### Roster[edit]

1976 Chicago White Sox

Roster
Pitchers

* 46 Francisco Barrios
* 34 Ken Brett
* 36 Clay Carroll
* 51 Terry Forster
* 54 Goose Gossage
* 26 Dave Hamilton
* 25 Jesse Jefferson
* 21 Bart Johnson
* 45 Chris Knapp
* 27 Ken Kravec
* 55 Jack Kucek
* 41 Larry Monroe
* 13 Blue Moon Odom
* 38 Jim Otten
* 40 Pete Vuckovich
* 28 Wilbur Wood

|  | Catchers

* 16 Brian Downing
* 29 George Enright
* 11 Jim Essian
* 17 Phil Roof
* 8 Pete Varney

Infielders

* 8 Kevin Bell
* 10 Jack Brohamer
* 30 Bucky Dent
* 19 Sam Ewing
* 23 Lamar Johnson
* 3 Jim Spencer
* 1 Bill Stein
* 14 Hugh Yancy

|  | Outfielders

* 7 Alan Bannister
* 22 Buddy Bradford
* 15 Rich Coggins
* 48 Ralph Garr
* 22 Jerry Hairston
* 14 Cleon Jones
* 18 Pat Kelly
* 44 Chet Lemon
* 17 Carlos May
* 15 Wayne Nordhagen
* 20 Nyls Nyman
* 6 Jorge Orta

Other batters

* 9 Minnie Miñoso

|  | Manager

* 12 Paul Richards

Coaches

* 32 Jim Busby
* 31 Jim Mahoney
* 9 Minnie Miñoso
* 33 Ken Silvestri

## Player stats[edit]

### Batting[edit]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player  | G  | AB  | R  | H  | 2B  | 3B  | HR  | RBI  | BB  | SO  | AVG  | SB

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Alan Bannister, OF,SS,2B  | 73  | 145  | 19  | 36  | 6  | 2  | 0  | 8  | 14  | 21  | .248  | 12
Kevin Bell, 3B  | 68  | 230  | 24  | 57  | 7  | 6  | 5  | 20  | 18  | 56  | .248  | 2
Buddy Bradford, RF  | 55  | 160  | 20  | 35  | 5  | 2  | 4  | 14  | 19  | 37  | .219  | 6
Ken Brett, PH  | 12  | 12  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 1  | .083  | 0
Jack Brohamer, 2B  | 119  | 354  | 33  | 89  | 12  | 2  | 7  | 40  | 44  | 28  | .251  | 1
Rich Coggins, OF  | 32  | 96  | 4  | 15  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 5  | 6  | 15  | .156  | 3
Bucky Dent, SS  | 158  | 562  | 44  | 138  | 18  | 4  | 2  | 52  | 43  | 45  | .246  | 3
Brian Downing, C,DH  | 104  | 317  | 38  | 81  | 14  | 0  | 3  | 30  | 40  | 55  | .256  | 7
George Enright, C  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | .000  | 0
Jim Essian, C  | 78  | 199  | 20  | 49  | 7  | 0  | 0  | 21  | 23  | 28  | .246  | 2
Sam Ewing, DH  | 19  | 41  | 3  | 9  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 2  | 8  | .220  | 0
Ralph Garr, RF,LF,CF,DH  | 136  | 527  | 63  | 158  | 22  | 6  | 4  | 36  | 17  | 41  | .300  | 14
Jerry Hairston, RF  | 44  | 119  | 20  | 27  | 2  | 2  | 0  | 10  | 24  | 19  | .227  | 1
Lamar Johnson, 1B,DH  | 82  | 222  | 29  | 71  | 11  | 1  | 4  | 33  | 19  | 37  | .320  | 2
Cleon Jones, LF,DH  | 12  | 40  | 2  | 8  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 5  | 5  | .200  | 0
Pat Kelly, DH,LF,RF  | 107  | 311  | 42  | 79  | 20  | 3  | 5  | 34  | 45  | 45  | .254  | 15
Chet Lemon, CF  | 132  | 451  | 46  | 111  | 15  | 5  | 4  | 38  | 28  | 65  | .246  | 13
Carlos May, DH,LF  | 20  | 63  | 7  | 11  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 9  | 5  | .175  | 4
Minnie Miñoso, DH  | 3  | 8  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2  | .125  | 0
Wayne Nordhagen, RF,DH,C  | 22  | 53  | 6  | 10  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 5  | 4  | 12  | .189  | 0
Nyls Nyman, LF  | 8  | 15  | 2  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 3  | .133  | 1
Jorge Orta, LF,3B,DH,RF  | 158  | 636  | 74  | 174  | 29  | 8  | 14  | 72  | 38  | 77  | .274  | 24
Phil Roof, C  | 4  | 9  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 3  | .111  | 0
Jim Spencer, 1B  | 150  | 518  | 53  | 131  | 13  | 2  | 14  | 70  | 49  | 52  | .253  | 6
Bill Stein, 2B,3B  | 117  | 392  | 32  | 105  | 15  | 2  | 4  | 36  | 22  | 67  | .268  | 4
Pete Varney, C  | 14  | 41  | 5  | 10  | 2  | 0  | 3  | 5  | 2  | 9  | .244  | 0
Hugh Yancy, 2B  | 3  | 10  | 0  | 1  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 3  | .100  | 0

Team Totals

| 161 | 5532 | 586 | 1410 | 209 | 46 | 73 | 538 | 471 | 739 | .255 | 120

### Pitching[edit]

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player  | W  | L  | ERA  | G  | GS  | SV  | IP  | H  | R  | ER  | HR  | BB  | K

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Francisco Barrios | 5  | 9  | 4.32  | 35  | 14  | 3  | 141.2  | 136  | 72  | 68  | 13  | 49  | 81
Ken Brett | 10  | 12  | 3.32  | 27  | 26  | 1  | 200.2  | 171  | 82  | 74  | 5  | 79  | 91
Clay Carroll | 4  | 4  | 2.56  | 29  | 0  | 6  | 77.1  | 67  | 26  | 22  | 1  | 26  | 38
Terry Forster | 2  | 12  | 4.37  | 29  | 16  | 1  | 111.1  | 126  | 61  | 54  | 7  | 45  | 70
Goose Gossage | 9  | 17  | 3.94  | 31  | 29  | 1  | 224.0  | 214  | 104  | 98  | 16  | 93  | 135
Dave Hamilton | 6  | 6  | 3.59  | 45  | 1  | 10  | 90.1  | 81  | 38  | 36  | 4  | 51  | 62
Jesse Jefferson | 2  | 5  | 8.52  | 19  | 9  | 0  | 62.1  | 86  | 62  | 59  | 4  | 42  | 30
Bart Johnson | 9  | 16  | 4.73  | 32  | 32  | 0  | 211.1  | 231  | 115  | 111  | 19  | 63  | 91
Larry Monroe | 0  | 1  | 4.15  | 8  | 2  | 0  | 21.2  | 23  | 11  | 10  | 0  | 13  | 9
Chris Knapp | 3  | 1  | 4.82  | 11  | 6  | 0  | 52.1  | 54  | 31  | 28  | 5  | 33  | 41
Ken Kravec | 1  | 5  | 4.89  | 9  | 8  | 0  | 49.2  | 49  | 28  | 27  | 3  | 32  | 38
Jack Kucek | 0  | 0  | 9.64  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 4.2  | 9  | 5  | 5  | 2  | 4  | 2
Blue Moon Odom | 2  | 2  | 5.79  | 8  | 4  | 0  | 28.0  | 31  | 21  | 18  | 2  | 20  | 18
Jim Otten | 0  | 0  | 4.50  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 6.0  | 9  | 6  | 3  | 0  | 2  | 3
Pete Vuckovich | 7  | 4  | 4.65  | 33  | 7  | 0  | 110.1  | 122  | 59  | 57  | 3  | 64  | 62
Wilbur Wood | 4  | 3  | 2.24  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 56.1  | 51  | 24  | 14  | 3  | 11  | 31

Team Totals

| 64 | 97 | 4.25 | 161 | 161 | 22 | 1448.0 | 1460 | 745 | 684 | 87 | 627 | 802

## Farm system[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Iowa Oaks | American Association | Loren Babe
AA | Knoxville Knox Sox | Southern League | Gordon Lund
A | Appleton Foxes | Midwest League | Jim Napier
Rookie | GCL White Sox | Gulf Coast League | Joe Jones

Source:[20]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "WSI's FLYINGSOCK.COM. Chicago White Sox coverage with totally biased attitude!". Archived from the original on December 22, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
2. ^ Jim Kaat at Baseball Reference
3. ^ a b Larvell Blanks at Baseball-Reference
4. ^ Rich Hinton[permanent dead link] at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Lee Richard at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Radom, Todd (August 24, 2015). "The White Sox are busting out their 1976 throwback uniforms; shorts will not be worn". Sporting News. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
7. ^ "Keeping cool in style". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (photo). August 9, 1976. p. 13.
8. ^ "On short end in garb but not score". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (AP photo). August 9, 1976. p. 1D.
9. ^ "Baseball uniforms through the years". Sports Illustrated. August 11, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
10. ^ "White Sox are showing". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. August 9, 1976. p. 16.
11. ^ Merron, Jeff. "The List: Biggest sports busts". ESPN. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
12. ^ Jeff Holly at Baseball Reference
13. ^ Steve Trout at Baseball Reference
14. ^ Willie McGee at Baseball Reference
15. ^ Lorenzo Gray at Baseball Reference
16. ^ Blue Moon Odom at Baseball Reference
17. ^ Wayne Nordhagen at Baseball Reference
18. ^ Phil Roof at Baseball Reference
19. ^ Minnie Miñoso at Baseball Reference
20. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

## External links[edit]

* 1976 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Reference

* v
* t
* e

1976 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1976 MLB draft
* 1976 All-Star Game
* 1976 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Chicago White Sox

* Established in 1900
* Based in Chicago, Illinois

Franchise|

* History
* Seasons
* Owners and executives
* Managers
* Players
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* first-round draft picks
* Broadcasters
* Team records
* Award winners
* No-hitters

Ballparks|

* South Side Park
* Comiskey Park
* Guaranteed Rate Field

* Spring training: * Recreation Park
* Palm Springs Stadium
* Plant Field
* Al Lopez Field
* Payne Park
* Ed Smith Stadium
* Tucson Electric Park
* Camelback Ranch

Culture|

* Andy the Clown
* Armour Square/Bridgeport
* Black Betsy
* Black Sox Scandal
* Curse of the Black Sox
* Eight Men Out
* The Fix
* Field of Dreams
* Shoeless Joe
* Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers
* Gene Honda
* "Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox"
* Nancy Faust
* Nicknames
* Only The Lonely
* The Sodfather
* Southpaw
* Sox–35th
* Sportsvision
* The Stratton Story
* "Sweet Home Chicago"
* Turn Back the Clock
* White Flag Trade

Lore|

* 1994 bat burglary
* 2008 Blackout Game
* 2015 crowdless game
* Artnell Company v. Commissioner
* Disco Demolition Night
* The Hitless Wonders
* Perfect games
* Charlie Robertson
* Mark Buehrle
* Philip Humber
* South Side Hitmen
* Winning Ugly
* MLB at Field of Dreams

Rivalries|

* Chicago Cubs
* Detroit Tigers
* Minnesota Twins

Key personnel|

* Chairman: Jerry Reinsdorf
* General Manager: Chris Getz
* Special Assistant to the GM: Jim Thome
* Manager: Pedro Grifol

World Series
championships (3)|

* 1906
* 1917
* 2005

American League
championships (6)|

* 1901
* 1906
* 1917
* 1919
* 1959
* 2005

Division championships (6)|

* West: 1983
* 1993
* Central: 2000
* 2005
* 2008
* 2021

Wild Card berths (1)|

* 2020

Minor league
affiliates|

* Charlotte Knights (Triple-A)
* Birmingham Barons (Double-A)
* Winston-Salem Dash (High-A)
* Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Single-A)
* ACL White Sox (Rookie)
* DSL White Sox (Rookie)

Media|

* NBC Sports Chicago
* ESPN Radio 1000
* White Sox Radio Network
* ESPN Deportes 1220 AM

Seasons (123)

1900s|

* 1900 ·  1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909

1910s|

* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919

1920s|

* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929

1930s|

* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939

1940s|

* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

1950s|

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959

1960s|

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

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