Lip Man 1 Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 November 1, 1950 - All-time great and career White Sox standout Luke Appling officially announced his retirement after 20 years with the franchise. He was undoubtedly the greatest player in franchise history at the time, boasting a career average of .310 with 2,749 hits. He won two batting titles and in 1936 drove in 128 runs. Later he would manager in the White Sox minor league system and also returned as a coach for the Sox in the 1970 and 1971 seasons. November 1, 2016 - A name change went into effect at the stadium formerly known as U.S. Cellular Field. The Guaranteed Rate mortgage company, based in Chicago, signed a 13-year agreement with the team for naming rights. The stadium would be called Guaranteed Rate Field. The announcement was met with a storm of ridicule by many including the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs who tweeted out negative comments. The downward arrow logo for the company also was met with criticism by many Sox fans who felt that was not an appropriate connection with a baseball team, particularly one who had been struggling for several seasons. According to reports the White Sox asked the company to change the logo’s direction but were refused. There were also reports another company made a better offer to the Sox for naming rights but wanted the stadium name changed back to Comiskey Park which Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox owner objected to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grinder Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 Why did JR object? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdGen Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 I've heard the rumor that there was a higher bidder and that info was withheld from JR. But the rumor that a company was willing to spend tens of millions for naming rights and wouldn't even use their name is so ridiculous that it shouldn't even be repeated. Any exec making that deal would be fired on the spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted November 1, 2023 Author Share Posted November 1, 2023 37 minutes ago, ThirdGen said: I've heard the rumor that there was a higher bidder and that info was withheld from JR. But the rumor that a company was willing to spend tens of millions for naming rights and wouldn't even use their name is so ridiculous that it shouldn't even be repeated. Any exec making that deal would be fired on the spot. The name I was told went along the lines of "Comiskey Park at Wintrust Field." And I was told the same thing that there was a higher bidder that certain members of the organization withheld some info from JR. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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