DISH Deluxe 3 — The 1977 White Sox

Not all of our DISH Deluxe history podcasts will be about a single date in White Sox history — in fact, quite often they won’t be.

This episode is our first such podcast. The 1977 club was selected now, because at 22-6, it remains the best July club in White Sox history. And the South Side Hit Men spent the entire month in first place, stretching nearly into mid-August.

Mark Liptak and Brett Ballantini discuss the overwhelming sense of fun associated with that club, and more:

• Not only the best July club in White Sox history, but the only one better than .500 from 1973 to 1982, and the best team overall between 1966 and 1982
• Setting the scene — Bill Veeck and Roland Hemond’s clever/desperate Rent-a-Player strategy
• The key trade made at the dawn of the season — and the bonus ace who was almost stuffed into the deal!
• Opening Day: snow
• Heating up/highlights as the White Sox made their ascendance
• Where it started to falter and fall off
• The legacy of the South Side Hit Men
• The unsung hero of that 90-win club
• Miraculous ... defensive? ... achievements!
• The overlooked pitching staff
• How close were the White Sox to bringing Oscar Gamble back to Chicago?
• Player spotlights: Chet Lemon, Eric Soderholm, Steve Stone, Lerrin LaGrow, Oscar Gamble, and others

Listen below, on our built-in Megaphone player:

or follow along with every episode at Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever you consume your podcasts. You can also watch the podcast on the Sox Populi YouTube channel.