Who Wears Short Shorts?

Many baseball fans have been so permanently traumatized by the brain-searing image of the 1976 Chicago White Sox in short pants, they believe the team actually wore the shorts all season. In fact, the ChiSox only donned their ChiShorts on three occasions that summer — including an August 20 game against the Baltimore Orioles, when the above snap of Ralph "Roadrunner" Garr was taken. That's Sox great Minnie Minoso behind him; though he was coaching first that day, Minoso would come out of retirement a few weeks later at the age of 50 and become the second-oldest player to knock a major league hit. He was not wearing shorts that day.

Though the ChiShorts rank right up there with Disco Demolition as one of Bill Veeck's most notorious stunts, he always credited the idea (or shifted the blame for it) to his wife, Mary. Mrs. Veeck thought that the players might appreciate the relative comfort of shorts in the dead of summer, when Comiskey Park could be a total sweatbox. But looking at the above pic, one wonders whether it wasn't just an elaborate ruse so that she could get an eyeful of the Roadrunner's meaty thighs...

Comments

[Michael Ackerman]

Hey Dan--it's been a long time.
I saw one of those games--but they were wearing the longer shorts and playing the Yankees. My recollection may be foggy but I believe the game was at Shea Stadium (Yankee Stadium was begin renovated) and it was my first time seeing the Yankees (I was a die hard met fan). Those uniforms were ridiculous. If I recall correctly the game I saw was in June.

[Dan E]

Hey, Michael! Lovely to hear from ya. I think your memory may be combining a couple of different games - the Sox didn't bust out the shorts until '76, by which time the Yankees were already back in the Bronx. (Their Shea exile took place in '74 and '75.) Very cool that you got to see the shorts in action, though; hope you weren't too traumatized!