Frederick J. Nachman

This week marks 100 years since our family began attending Chicago White Sox games. A single detail led me to find the game at which my uncle, Dr. Adolph Nachman, first entered Comiskey Park.

Adolph, who possessed an extraordinary memory well into age 101, said the pitchers were Red Faber for the White Sox and Eddie Rommel for the Philadelphia Athletics. Thanks to Baseball Reference, I found the game was played on August 21, 1921. The 7th-place Sox, managed by Kid Gleason, met the 8th-place A’s, managed by the legendary Connie Mack. Despite their eventual 62-92 record, the Sox sported four future Hall of Famers: Faber, Eddie Collins, Harry Hooper and Ray Schalk. The A’s defeated the Sox, 6-5 in 10 innings; Rommel entered the game in the 3rd inning; Faber went the route.

The White Sox experienced several lean years from the 1920s through the 1940s. Adolph was joined by my father, Marvin (five years his junior), on their trips to Comiskey Park. Dad never told me about his first season. Adolph said they took the Wentworth Avenue streetcar to the ballpark.

Adolph and Marvin finally witnessed a World Series on the South Side in 1959. Dad, my twin brother Frank, and I saw the Sox win Game 1, 11-0. The older Nachman  brothers watched the final two home games from Adolph’s seats in Section 45, Tier 6. At age 93, Adolph took a pass on the 2005 post-season games (his last game was in 2011). All five of the brothers’children – Jim, Bob, Cathy, Frank and I – made it to the magical 2005 World Series. Like religion, it’s all about tradition and faith.