Chicago White Sox of 2024 do the impossible: Make fans nostalgic for 1970 team

The ’70 club contended within two years. Don’t expect that this time.

By William S. Bike

The 2024 Chicago White Sox on Aug. 31 lost their 106th game, tying the team’s all-time record for defeats set by the 1970 White Sox, who didn’t achieve that milestone until the last game of the season. The 2024 crew lost their 106th a month earlier than their 1970 counterparts.

While the 1970 team might have had a bad record at 56–106, they actually had some good players: Bill Melton, Carlos May, Walt Williams, Tommy John, Joe Horlen, and Wilbur Wood. The 2024 squad has nowhere near this nucleus of talent. By adding a few good players, by 1972 the White Sox not only were a contender, but led their division near the end of August until the mighty Oakland A’s had a 20–11 September that the Sox couldn’t overcome, and the Mustache Gang finished first. It’s a safe bet that the White Sox will not be in first place at the end of August 2026.

The 1972 White Sox, led by Dick Allen, became one of Chicago’s most beloved teams in memory, only two years after the 1970 disaster. It’s also a safe bet that the 2026 White Sox will probably not create the warm fuzzy memories that the 1972 squad did.

The Major League Baseball free-agent draft came in in 1965 so that bad teams, instead of just the wealthy New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, would have first crack at good players coming out of high school…