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White Sox Fri Sep 13 2013
White Sox History Conjures Fuzzy Memories
Every morning I have the same internet ritual. I go to Uni Watch first, then saunter over to Mental Floss, The Worst Things for Sale, Deadspin, Sidespin, SportsPickle and, yes, Barstool Sports. Hey, what do you want? I'm a 23-year-old guy.
But my favorite site to check each day is FuzzyMemories.TV, the Museum of Classic Chicago Television. It's one of the main reasons why I'm thankful for both the internet and for residing in Chicagoland.
The site contains thousands of video clips. If you love nostalgia, or if you lived in the city during the '60s, '70s or '80s, you will spend countless hours poking around the site. You'll find old news segments with legendary anchors, TV show openings and closings, clips from Bozo and the Monster Rally Movie, dozens of classic local commercials and in-tact full commercial breaks. The work of the wildly talented Rich Koz, from Son of Svengoolie to the Koz Zone, is archived here as well.
Tons of old Chicago sports videos live on Fuzzy Memories, too. You can see Bob Costas host a Bulls telecast, and you can watch Gale Sayers stop for gas at Cheker. Best yet, you can view plenty of White Sox-related videos. Here are some of my favorites.
• Though it's not on the Fuzzy Memories website, the site's YouTube channel has live footage of the Disco Demolition night (above). In addition...
• ... here's a great live news report from WMAQ-TV the night of Disco Demolition. Crazy to watch and read about 34 years after the fact; imagine (or think back to) sitting in your living room, expecting to watch some Sox-Tigers highlights and instead seeing fans, cops, litter and even fires on the field.
• Here's Bobby Bonds reading a promo for bat day. Great shot of the Sox uniforms with the huge collars. And for whatever reason I get a kick out of Bonds' methodical reading and the "be there" and head turn at the end.
• There are a few different clips on the site of Harry Carry singing the seventh inning stretch at Comiskey, and each one is awesome.
• A couple trips down memory lane here in this entertaining profile on third baseman Eric Soderholm: the South Side hitmen, WMAQ's Tim Weigel, and a brief glimpse of Oscar Gamble's afro.
• In 1978 the Sox ran this commercial to get people to come out to the park. "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye."
• Things of a bygone era: Ribbie, Roobarb, and Sprite Magic Baseball. Yet, voiceover man Hawk Harrelson obviously remains.
• I love when athletes act in local commercials. Here's an ad for Pizza Hut with Rich Dotson and Carlton Fisk.
• Here's an interview in Spanish with Ibis Guillen, Ozzie's wife. Sure, I can't understand it, but it's redeemable with the "Power of Love" theme music and, well, the gorgeous Mrs. Guillen.
• Fan footage from a June 1972 game. No sound, but great views of game action, fans, stadium, the original Svengoolie and the sweet red pinstriped Sox unis.
• Part one of "Diamonds Aren't Forever," a series of interviews about the last days of old Comiskey Park. All six parts are on the site.
• Commercial for White Sox broadcasts on 67 WMAQ, with a nun joke that is tasteful and isn't completely played out.
• Harry Caray endorsed La Preferida Foods back in the day, and the ad is charmingly filled with baseball clichés ("if you want to hit a grand slam for your team...") and Caray's catchphrases ("Holy Cow what a meal!").
• Lastly, how about a trip back to the night the Sox clinched the AL West crown (Here's all five parts). Not to sound like John Madden, but this is what it's all about, right here. The Sox win it on a walk-off sac fly, the players (and fans) storm the field, and the guys pop and spray champagne in the clubhouse afterwards. This is something to watch over and over again, and feel the rush of the winning run and the unbridled joy expressed by everyone involved. The Sox finally won something, and finally reached the postseason again. September 17, 1983 was one awesome night.
Or so I would imagine. Again, I'm only 23.
