ONE JERSEY, TWO VERSIONS, TWO SEASONS
Having seen one being offered on eBay, a few words on the history of the retro 1964 White Sox Turn Back The Clock home jerseys is in order. The jersey up on eBay is fine, but the history is a bit more convoluted on this style than your average TBTC unie.
The jerseys were ordered, in part, in 1994, and new players for 1995 on the Sox were manufactured that year. The style, a re-do of the 1964 home pinstriped design, was originally intended to be used in a September 1994 contest against the Yankees. The game, unfortunately, was lost due to the labor dispute that also wiped out the 1994 World Series.
While Wilson made both the first and second wave of these gamers, the 1994 and 1995 creations were distinguishable from each other due to variant numeric fonts and NOB fonts. The 1994 versions had strip tagging in the tail that was removed on virtually every one. The one being offered on eBay, a 1995-made John Kruk, had less detailed tagging. The jerseys were eventually worn in 1995 in a Sox-Orioles game at New Comiskey Park.
An added feature not present on the 1964 originals…a winged sock logo patch…was added to the mid-1990s version. Another unique aspect, at least in comparison to the first Pale Hose TBTC venture, was the jerseys only having one set produced, as the 1990 TBTCs had two sets made…presumably one for the team and one for the player to keep, if desired.
Finally, availability is minimal and prices are high, due in some degree to the subsequent team auction of these. One area store owner, a team sponsor at the time, won roughly 10 of them in the auction, paying four figures for each of the ten, and, due to the single set made, assuming (in error, of course) that he was going to clean up on selling them to rank and file hobbyists. It’s a must for White Sox style collectors, albeit not a readily available nor an inexpensive one.
OBITUARIES
Bep Guidolin, the youngest player ever to appear in an NHL game, passed away from a stroke at age 82. Guidolin was 16 years and 11 months of age when he skated for the Boston Bruins on November 12, 1942. His nine-year NHL career also found him in the employ of Detroit and Chicago.
Floyd Weaver, a MLB pitcher sporadically from 1962-71, died, according to the Baseball Almanac website. Weaver was an Indians moundsman in 1962 and 1965, his most active year in the Bigs. He also appeared with the 1970 White Sox and the 1971 Brewers. He was 67 on his date of death (November 17).
Tom Burgess, a longtime baseball lifer with a brief MLB playing career and a slightly longer coaching career in The Show, died at age 81. Burgess played briefly for the 1954 Cardinals and the 1962 Angels, and spent decades managing and coaching in the pros, with MLB stops with the Mets (1977) and Braves (1978).
SO LONG KERRY WOOD…YOU WILL BE MISSED BY CUBS FANS.