“It’s the White Sox who made themselves the best deal of the week, getting Richie (Allen). That trade ranks right up there with us getting Kenny Holtzman from the Cubs.”
~ Oakland A’s Reggie Jackson
“We’ve got a bomber.”
~ Manager Chuck Tanner
“I scouted 90,000 players in my lifetime. Dick Allen was the greatest I ever saw.”
~ Veteran Philadelphia Phillies scout John Ogden
“He wasn’t even dressed — he’s in a game jersey and his shower shoes. And I said ‘Dick, Chuck wants you to pinch hit.’ And he looked at me like I was a Martian. He said, ‘Tell him I’m eating a chili dog.’ And I said I’m not going to tell him that. So, he had spilled chili all over his front, right? So he had to get out of that.”
~ batboy Rory Clark
“I keep smiling when I talk about the ’72 season because it was one of my favorite seasons in my career.”
~ General Manager Roland Hemond
“We always had to live separate from everybody else on the team. The Whites went to the hotel, and we went to the other side of the tracks where Black families lived in private homes or wherever they could…there was an empty house the people owned, but there was no heat in it. So we asked, could we stay over there? And so, they put some light in there and had the lights turned on, they put two cots in there, and that’s where he and I slept.”
~ Hank Allen, Dick’s brother
“I’ve been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I have never seen — even in Mississippi and Alabama — mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I’ve seen here in Chicago.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Where are the rights of the people to elect who they want as delegates? How can they be told they must have so many delegates who are women, who are Black and who are Spanish-speaking?”
~ Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley
“I realized (Daley) didn’t care about Blacks, that he courted our votes, got them, then turned his back on us. He was the only enemy I’ve ever had in politics.”
~ Illinois Congressman Ralph Metcalfe
“We drew a lot of Afro-Americans and Latinos to Sox Park. It’s the most minorities I’ve ever seen in the stands in my whole career…and that includes LA, St. Louis and Philly.”
~ Dick Allen
“It was John Allyn’s determination, really selflessness, that saved the White Sox for the city of Chicago. Every White Sox fan owes him a debt of gratitude for his untiring efforts to keep the team in Chicago.”
~ 1979 White Sox owner Bill Veeck after John Allyn’s death
“Chuck [Tanner] stuck up for the guys — he was like your father. He would kick your butt if you did wrong and pat you on the back when you did good. I always played good ball for him. I even played hurt, and he appreciated that. I’d go out and give it my best. He earned respect and we gave him respect. He was the best manager I ever had.”
~ Carlos May
“Johnny Sain was the best pitching coach that I’ve ever known. He could make a good pitcher better. He could make a bad pitcher better. I mean, he just had the ability to instruct. He’d have players walk around with a baseball, try different grips. He says everybody’s fingers are different. They might try a different grip.
~ General Manager Roland Hemond
“Roland [Hemond] as brilliant,” said longtime. “He helped and informed us without betraying confidences or his obligation to the White Sox. He understood so well our jobs and his as GM.”
~ Chicago television and radio sportscaster Tom Shaer
“This is a different atmosphere. A good baseball town, a good pitching staff, a young team with lots of guys who are going to be around for awhile. I think I’ve found a home.”
~ Dick Allen
“Harry [Caray] was pure show and had a fans’ point of view, so he would go through extremes. There was no in between with Harry, which is appealing to fans in a way because baseball’s not the most important thing in the world, right? So, if you spend a few hours a day or night listening to Harry, it’s more relatable than if it’s Bob who’s just telling you baseball stuff forever.”
~ radio show host Tom Weinberg
“I was young and cute at the time, but I also had talent. I definitely could play anything. So whatever was popular, I always knew what the Top Ten songs were and you would always hear me playing something that was popular.”
~ White Sox organist Nancy Faust