The White Sox Trippy Magic Carpet Ride of 1969

“Major League Baseball made its 1969 debut on the South Side Wednesday, but the star attraction was neither the host White Sox... It was, instead, a diamond-shaped patch of pool table green-Sox Astroturf- “infield of the future.”

​It was a dubious year for the Chicago White Sox, who finished last season with a 67-95 record and attracted a minuscule 7,493 fans per game. It was their first losing season in 17 years. The team owners, John and Arthur Allyn Jr., predicted that the Sox would draw little more to the ballpark and projected a loss of $438,800 in 1969.

​Ownership launched a $500,000 “high-pressure campaign” to bring fans back to the nearly 60-year-old Comiskey Park; it wasn’t going to be with the players on the team, but with innovations and additions that hoped to spruce up the old place.

White Sox Park got a makeover from the inside and out. The greatest change was the addition of $100,000 worth of green synthetic grass infield called Sox Sod, which was the second stadium in the major leagues to use it. This innovation was designed to reduce bad bounces and hops, provide a firm footing, and require lower maintenance than grass. The green hue was hoped to make the stadium look vibrant on color TV sets.

"We will be able to use the field just 15 minutes after a heavy downpour, and this means it could save us two or more rainouts a season", said Arthur Allyn.

The turf was going to be different from the Astrodome's. The Sox Sod had a base of 13 inches of gravel, 5 inches of asphalt, topped by an absorbing rubberized cushion of three-quarters of an arc, to which the synthetic grass is bonded.

​Sox manager Al Lopez thought that hitting would be different this year, and a line drive would come off much quicker. Shortstop Luis Aparicio said the carpet would cause some ground balls to get to the infielders faster than normal.

​“It will be tougher to bunt a runner from first to second, but it should be easier to get the ball past the pitcher to move a man from second to third.”

The future Hall of Famer added that he could see the ball well, but had some trouble with the ball coming off the green and onto the basepaths. Third baseman Bill Melton said the ball would get to him much faster. Sandy Alomar, Sr., added that the turf had truer bounce because, unlike the Astrodome, their sod was permanent.”

Even Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson praised the new turf, saying that club officials had to do something to give the Sox more hitting. The team mustered only a .228 batting average, which was below the league average from the previous season.

Chicago Daily News columnist Dave Nightingale wrote almost an entire article about the “phony fuzz” and added that the ball speed will be greater,  bunted balls would roll like marbles to the fielder, and tricky hops would be a thing of the past on the new carpet.

​“While we are not committed to putting ‘Soxsod’ in our outfield next year, we are definitely considering it,” Arthur Allyn said. “However, we do want to see how the infield works this year before we make any decisions.”

​Allyn predicted that the turf would be added to the outfield within a few years, but that there was just too much money involved in doing it at the moment. It would have cost the White Sox an additional $300,000.

​Also new were bright blue uniforms, similar in hue to those of the Los Angeles Dodgers or, dare I say, the Chicago Cubs up north at Wrigley Field. The home sets were a complete overhaul, featuring a solid white jersey with blue piping, the iconic Old English Sox design, and white stirrups with blue striping.

The pinstripes disappeared, and the caps no longer featured the interlocking block “SOX” logo. For the first time in team history, the Old-English SOX emblem was on the cap and matched the design on the shirt. There was no other color besides royal blue.

​Interestingly, the new uniforms were supposed to have an additional color according to the Chicago Sun-Times article on February 11, 1969. Stu Holcomb, the Sox new PR Director, was planning on having traditional patriotic colors.

​“They will be tailored in red, white, and blue, perhaps even topped with an Uncle Sam Sailor cap. A pointer, little white beard may also be allowed.”

​Holcomb also ditched the powder blue shades of the road jerseys of the past 5 years in favor of traditional grays, just as expansion franchises in Seattle and Montreal were introducing their own powder blue road uniforms. The drab gray uniforms featured the same Chicago script wordmark, but in white against a gray jersey.

​The Sox also introduced royal blue satin jackets with the SOX logo on the chest. Team officials wore Ivy League jackets featuring the Arthur Allyn crest, a design of 50 stars and 13 stripes on a royal blue field.

However, there was more at Comiskey Park, including fences brought in to help hitters. A vinyl-coated fence, colored hunter green, was installed in the outfield, moving the right field wall 20 feet and the center field wall 15 feet. Ed Holstein, director of park operations, deemed the walls “the safest on the market.”

​Other changes included a Pitch-O-Meter clock to count down the 20 seconds the pitcher has to deliver a pitch when a runner is on base, or an automatic ball would be called. The hope was to hear fans count down from the stands. Wait, a minute, is this 1969 or 2025?

​A Dugout Lounge was created for all ticket holders, offering dinner and cocktails. About 11,000 seats were switched from reserved to general admission on both the upper and lower decks.

A group of 15 young women in mini-skirts, called the “Soxettes,” was introduced to help make fans feel welcome at the games. They were dressed up in red, white, and blue outfits to greet fans. They miniskirt-clad ladies also handed out schedules and matchbooks, and were involved in the community with school visits and TV appearances. Newspaper articles of the time took notice of their presence at the old ballpark.

​Management spent $100,000 on improvements to the lighting in the parking lots and alleys  to make “White Sox Park the brightest area  in Chicago and make customers feel that they can walk out to their cars and have nothing to be afraid of.” The team’s motto was “White Sox Park is the Light, Bright and Right One.”

​Opening day under sunny conditions, but only 11,000 fans were in attendance. After 35 games, the Sox knocked in 132 runs, compared to 92 from a year ago, but were hitting a meager .237, nine points higher than a year ago. In 20 home games, the Sox attracted 165,903 fans - down 39,712 from the same time a year ago. Meanwhile, the Cubs attracted 272,955 fans in 19 games.

​Just as today, there was a stigma that the neighborhood surrounding White Sox Park was unsafe for families. However, GM Ed Short said. The statistics show that the neighborhoods around Wrigley Field and Chicago Stadium had a higher crime rate. Third basemen Pete Ward lived four blocks away and walked to and from the ballpark. "I've lived all over Chicago, and this is the best place yet."

​The changes were seen as gimmicks to a few fans, especially John Battistella of Westchester, Illinois, who wrote a letter to the Chicago Daily News.

​“So what do Arthur Allyn, Stu Holcomb, and Ed Short come up with? Shorter fences, different uniforms for players and concessionaires, but the same patsy hitters.

One highlight came on July 20 with the announcement of the Apollo moon landing. The White Sox marked the moment by firing fireworks from the exploding scoreboard, a small band played several songs, and the 16,000 fans in attendance joined together in a prayer for the astronauts’ safe return to Earth.

The Sox finish the season with a 68-94 record, 29 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Western Division. Attendance was 589,546 for the season, averaging about 7,278. There were 11 games played in Milwaukee that drew 391,335, about 50 percent of the Sox total attendance for the year.

Arthur Allyn was asked if he regretted the decision to spend lavishly (which he reported was closer to $600,000 on improvements). He said not in the least and that he plans on spending even more in the next year and a half on advertising, promotions, facility rebuilding, and providing the public with the sort of team it deserves.

“When you’re winning, everything takes care of itself.”

The 1969 ballpark improvements and public campaign did not result in winning ways for the White Sox, and attendance did not increase. The year brought many changes designed to make coming to the ballpark fun again. It was worth a ride on the “magic green carpet,” but winning is what the Sox faithful really wanted.

And still desire.

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Follow all of Marc’s stadium journeys on Twitter @ballparkhunter and his YouTube channel. Email at Marc.Viquez@stadiumjourney.com