Louisville Slugger honoring White Sox greats

This upcoming Friday, November 10th Louisville Slugger will be honoring Frank Thomas with its Living Legend Award. The Big Hurt will join fellow Hall-of-Famers Dave Winfield, Andre Dawson, Ozzie Smith, Cal Rikpen Jr., Tony Gwynn, Johnny Bench, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, and Ken Griffey Jr. to receive the honor. The ceremony kicks off the 14th annual Louisville Slugger auction.

At the auction will be extraordinary pieces. For Thomas, Louisville Slugger has produced 100 models of the Big Hurt's preferred bat, the T158. For $299.99, each bat is signed by Thomas and includes two tickets to the Living Legend ceremony.

Along with Thomas are pieces donated by Billy Pierce's family to support Chicago Baseball Cancer Charity. These items include a pitching rubber from the 1962 World Series (valued $10,000), a warmup jacket from Pierce's rookie season with the 1945 Detroit Tigers, and the crown jewel: Pierce's 1959 World Series uniform.

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Pierce appeared in three games against the Dodgers. His first appearance was in Game Four as the Dodgers chased Early Wynn and Turk Lown out after three innings. Down 4-0, Pierce pitched three scoreless innings without allowing a hit, walking one and striking out two. That allowed the Sox to rally back tying the game in the seventh inning but ultimately lost when Gil Hodges hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth.

Game Five was a weird circumstance as Pierce entered the eighth inning with a 1-0 lead. Starter Bob Shaw was cruising but ran into trouble after Hodges single with a runner on first became runners on second and third with an off throw. Pierce entered and intentionally walked Rip Repulski to load the bases with one out. Different times back then managing baseball games.

Pierce's final appearance in Game Six was a scoreless eighth inning, but the game was out of hand as the Dodgers won, 9-3. Included in the Pierce collection is his 1962 World Series uniform where he started two games losing Game Three and winning Game Six.

For White Sox fans in the Louisville area, the auction begins at 11 A.M. To request more information about the Pierce Collection or Thomas T158 signed bats, call 502-588-7286 or email museumstore@slugger.com.