Bill Melton

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William Edwin Melton
(Beltin' Bill, Beltin' Melton)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Bill Melton played a decade in the majors and was a big star with the Chicago White Sox, where he spent most of his career, posting double figures in homers in six seasons.

After attending Citrus College, where he also played football, Melton was signed by the White Sox and scout Hollis Thurston in 1964 and reached the majors in 1968. He was the team's starting third baseman the following Opening Day, in 1969 (replacing Pete Ward), and clubbed 23 homers that year. On June 24th, he became just the fifth player in White Sox history to have a three-homer game when he went 4 for 5 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Seattle Pilots. His first two homers came off starter Fred Talbot, and the last off John O'Donoghue, and his other hit was a double in a 7-6 win. He led the club in homers, doubles (26) and RBIs (87) that year. While he was a success at the plate, he struggled in the field. In 1970, he made 12 errors in his first 24 games at third. The twelfth error, misjudging a routine pop fly, broke his nose, and not long after he returned from the injury, he was moved to right field. From July 23rd to July 28th that same summer, he struck out in 11 consecutive at-bats over the course of four games. Nonetheless, he ended the year with a White Sox record 33 home runs, sixth best in the American League; he was in fact the first player in Sox history to reach the 30-homer mark and he set a team record with 22 long balls hit at home.

Moved back to third base, Melton had an even better year at the plate in 1971, leading the AL with 33 homers. He had 20 homers by the All-Star break and was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the only time of his career, although he did not appear in the game, as Brooks Robinson played the entire game at third base. He hit his final home run of the year on the season's last day, breaking a three-way tie with Reggie Jackson and Norm Cash. He became the first White Sox player to lead the circuit in round trippers, a particularly impressive feat since the club played in Comiskey Park, widely regarded as a pitcher's park. The following offseason, he suffered a back injury that cost him most of 1972. That year, teammate Dick Allen became the second White Sox player to lead the AL in homers, with 37 (he would also lead with 34 in spite of missing part of the 1974 season, and no other White Sox player has done it since). Melton hit 20 home runs in 1973 and 21 in 1974, but in 1975 he hit just 15, and his batting average dropped to .240. Following that season, he was traded with Steve Dunning to the California Angels for Jim Spencer and Morris Nettles. Melton ended his White Sox career as the club's all-time leading home run hitter (at the time) with 154.

After spending a year with the Angels, Melton was traded to the Cleveland Indians, for whom he played his final big league game in 1977. He ended his career with 160 home runs.

Baseball Digest in 1988 reported that Melton was working as a real estate agent in Newport Beach, California. He later went to work for the White Sox marketing department before embarking on a career as a broadcaster for the club, working for WGN as a pre-game and post-game analyst from 1998 to 2004. He moved to Comcast SportsNet Chicago in a similar role starting in 2005, and later worked for NBC Sports Chicago. He passed away in Phoenix, AZ in 2024 after a brief illness.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • AL All-Star (1971)
  • AL Home Runs Leader (1971)
  • 20-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1969-1971, 1973 & 1974)
  • 30-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1970 & 1971)

Further Reading[edit]

  • Bill Melton (as told to George Vass): "The Game I'll Never Forget", Baseball Digest, June 1989, pp. 65-69. [1]
  • Joseph Wancho: "The South Side's First Home Run King", The National Pastime, SABR, 51, 2023, pp. 103-105.

Related Sites[edit]

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