1967 Chicago White Sox

BR Team Page Record: 89-73, Finished 4th in American League (1967 AL)

Managed by Eddie Stanky

Coaches: Kerby Farrell, Les Moss and Grover Resinger

Ballpark: Comiskey Park

History, Comments, Contributions

Much like the "Hitless Wonders" of 1906, the 1967 Chicago White Sox were carried on the arms of an excellent pitching staff. Joel Horlen anchored the rotation, winning 19 games and leading the American League with a 2.06 earned run average. Veteran Gary Peters won 16 games and struck out 215, while young hurler Tommy John notched 10 wins along with a 2.47 ERA. The stellar pitching made up for a sub-par offense. No player hit 20 home runs, and no regular had a batting average higher than .241. Outfielder/first baseman Pete Ward led the hitters with 18 homers and 62 runs batted in.

Under the leadership of fiery manager Eddie Stanky, the White Sox remained in the heat of the pennant race until losing both games of a doubleheader to the last-place Kansas City Athletics in the final week of the season. They finished in fourth place in a tightly contested American League, just three games out of first place.

They had held first place from June 11th to August 12th, their lead reaching as many as 5 1/2 games. By early September, three other teams, the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers had caught them, with all four teams being in a virtual tie on September 6th. On September 27th, all four teams were still in the race and within 1 1/2 games of each other, with the White Sox in second place, a game behind the Twins. On the morning of Friday, September 29th, the spread was still a game and a half, but the Sox were in trouble because of their double loss to the A's two days earlier: they had to win all three of their remaining games and for other teams to knock one another out. However, they were shut out, 1-0, by the lowly Washington Senators that Friday and were mathematically eliminated as Boston finally ended up on top. Their lack of hitting had caught up to them as they scored only 5 runs in their final 5 games.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Tommie Agee, Ken Berry, Joel Horlen and Gary Peters
• Topps All-Star Rookie Team: Walt Williams (OF)

Standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Boston Red Sox	92	70	.568	--
Detroit Tigers	91	71	.562	1
Minnesota Twins	91	71	.562	1
Chicago White Sox	89	73	.549	3
California Angels	84	77	.522	7.5
Baltimore Orioles	76	85	.472	15.5
Washington Senators	76	85	.472	15.5
Cleveland Indians	75	87	.463	17
New York Yankees	72	90	.444	20
Kansas City Athletics	62	99	.385	23

1967 Opening Day Lineup

Walt Williams, lf

Don Buford, 3b

Tommie Agee, cf

Pete Ward, 1b

Ken Berry, rf

Jerry McNertney, c

Ron Hansen, ss

Jerry Adair, 2b

John Buzhardt, p

Further Reading

• Cameron Bright: The 1967 American League Pennant Race: Four Teams, Six Weeks, One Winner, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2018. ISBN 978-1-4766-7296-0
• Bryan Soderholm-Difatte: "The '67 White Sox: "Hitless" Destiny's Grandchild?", in Stuart Shea, ed.: North Side, South Side, All Around Town, The National Pastime, SABR, 2015. ISBN 978-1-93359987-8