“Last Comiskey” documentary is on its way

It started as a labor of love for longtime White Sox fan Matt Flesch — as well as something to pass the time during the pandemic, when the smart play was to stay isolated and stay well.

It turned into a project that went far beyond what was originally thought: A documentary on the remarkable 1990 White Sox season, which was the final season of the original Comiskey Park.

That project, called “Last Comiskey,” is finished and will be released in three parts on YouTube starting on March 2. Part II will be released on March 9, and Part III on March 16. All parts will be available at 8 p.m. CT on the release dates.

Flesch is a health care communications/public relations spokesperson who had some background in writing and doing videos as part of his job, but this project grew into something he never imagined.

“I originally thought I’d just put something together that would run about 15-20 minutes, just the comments from players and people who remembered that season,” Flesch says. “But after I spoke with Dan Evans and Ozzie Guillén, the passion they spoke of, the stories … I just thought it needed to be developed more.”

The three parts run close to 90 minutes, and include interviews with 13 former White Sox players, as well as Evans (who worked in the front office) and longtime organist Nancy Faust (who also supplied the organ music for the documentary). Also, members of the Chicago media as well as White Sox fans were contacted to share their memories from that year.

It took a lot of nights and working on weekends as Matt, his brother Mike and three other friends went through reams of material … video highlights, newspaper clippings, still photos submitted by fans, and interviews to develop themes and try to capture what that incredible season was like, as the “Doin’ the Little Things” White Sox shocked baseball with 94 wins by executing fundamentals, hitting the other way, advancing runners into scoring position, stealing bases and using a lights-out bullpen to close down games.

So what was the hardest part? According to Matt, it actually wasn’t sorting through the video and audio. “It was getting in touch with everyone, trying to set up the Zoom calls. When I reached out to Scott Fletcher, for example, he was coaching in South Korea and we had to figure out the time differences and things like that.”

Matt was 15 during the 1990 season, and the team and the ballpark just captured his imagination. What he hopes to get out of all this is pretty simple, but also pretty profound.

“I wanted to capture that feeling I had, and share it with Sox fans who don’t know about [1990], or who thought something on that team would never be done.”

“Last Comiskey” is an incredible story, told well, with love — and using the technology available today to bring out the best in picture and sound.

Having seen a sample of the finished product, White Sox fans need to watch “Last Comiskey” when it is released in March. You won’t regret it.