Chicago White Sox 1979 Home Opener Disaster

On April 10, 1979, the Chicago White Sox’s home opener was such a disaster that team owner Bill Veeck offered every fan in the stadium free admission to the next game. “Please, give us another chance,” Veeck pleaded after 41,043 fans endured a miserable 40-degree day to watch the Sox suffer a humiliating 10-2 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays, a team widely considered to be underperforming. 

Sox pitchers walked 12 batters, and the defense committed multiple errors, including a costly mistake in the ninth inning when second baseman Alan Bannister, a late-inning replacement, botched an easy grounder. Trying to explain his blunder, Bannister said, “My glove must have been frozen.” After the embarrassing loss, Veeck didn’t mince words. “We stunk the joint out,” he admitted. 

Unwilling to accept that his team was as bad as their performance suggested, he offered a full refund to fans who returned their tickets or a reasonable facsimile of them, declaring, “Anybody who produces a raincheck is our guest tomorrow free of charge.” 

However, the fans weren’t fooled. They knew a poor team when they saw one. Even though Veeck’s offer was generous, very few fans took him up on it. Only 2,220 loyal supporters showed up for the free admission, joining a small crowd of 1,205 who bought tickets and later regretted it. 

Unfortunately for those who came hoping for redemption, the Sox bullpen collapsed again. Despite a 7-2 lead, they gave up six runs in the eighth inning, and the White Sox lost their second consecutive game, 9-7. Sometimes, the best things in life are free—but for the Sox that day at Comiskey Park, it was just another painful reminder of how bad things had gotten.