Richie Zisk: A Man For One Season

Richie came to the White Sox for only one season, but it happened to be the best of his career. He was part of Bill Veeck's "rent-a-player" experiment of 1977. It was a crazy idea from a man with crazy ideas and it almost worked.

Richie started his career in Pittsburgh and was with the Pirates from 1971 to 1976. Tragedy contributed to a regular spot on the Pirates starting in 1973. Richie took over Roberto Clemente's spot in the outfield and on the Pirates roster after his plane crash. He put up decent numbers, including a 100 RBI season and another season where he hit 21 home runs. He even hit over .300 twice in Pittsburgh. In December of 1976, Richie was traded along with Silvio Martinez to the White Sox for Rich Gossage and Terry Forster.

1977 was the year of the South Side Hitmen. Home runs came left and right, or so it seemed. Richie hit 30 home runs, 101 RBI and averaged .290, which were the best of his entire career. Sox fans had reason to cheer. There was excitement in Comiskey Park for the first time in many years. The Sox would have a legitimate shot at the postseason. The Sox finished 90-72, only good enough for third in the Western Division.

Third place was not success and the experiment was dismantled. He was granted free agency at the end of the 1977 season and signed with the Texas Rangers a few days later. He made the All-Star team with the Rangers in 1978, just like he did the season before with the White Sox. Richie stayed with Texas until the end of the 1980 season. He was traded to the Mariners in December 1980 and stayed in Seattle until his release in January 1985. His last game was on September 21, 1983.

Richie never quite matched his 1977 season with the Sox. His average never suffered that much, but his power numbers kept dipping lower. He is still remembered fondly in Chicago. Some people who saw the South Side Hitmen swear that it is the best hitting team that the White Sox ever put on the field.

Richie is currently a hitting coach for the Daytona Cubs. They retired his number 22 in a ceremony on July 20, 2007 with his family in attendance. It was also Richie Zisk bobblehead doll day.

A Lowlight From 1977 Jewel Tea

I found another example from the 1977 Jewel Tea set. Francisco Barrios. All I have to say is wow. This guy looks like he snuck into Comiskey Park and had a friend take a picture while he smiled defiantly.

Either that or some smart ass showed up to Sears in his sweats and chose the baseball field background. Ugh! It's White Sox, so I'll still pick it up one of these days, but cards like this make me sick. Francisco should have the decency to put his uniform on for the picture. At the very least, some attire that doesn't make him look like he just wandered off of the street onto the field.

1977 Jewel Tea

One of my weaknesses is White Sox regional sets. I guess it's the prospect of having something of my favorite team that many either don't know about or dismiss because these sets are not produced by Topps or Upper Deck. So be it. More for me, less for you.

Mind you, I have not acquired some of these sets. I have no clue about sizing or quality. Regional releases are funny that way. There's no consistent quality control. Sometimes that makes for interesting results. Sometimes you get more candid shots.

Jewel is a local grocery store chain in the Chicago area. They could have stores in other places, but I've only seen them in the Chicago area. Occasionally they would release sports related material as an added incentive for purchasing certain products. In 1977, Jewel put out a set of cards or photos (I'm not sure which, I've seen conflicting reports) depicting the Cubs and the White Sox.

The White Sox set had 16 cards to collect.

• Alan Bannister


• Francisco Barrios


• Jim Essian


• Oscar Gamble


• Ralph Garr


• Lamar Johnson


• Chris Knapp


• Ken Kravec


• Lerrin LaGrow


• Chet Lemon


• Jorge Orta


• Eric Soderholm


• Jim Spencer


• Steve Stone


• Wilbur Wood


• Richie Zisk

The few cards I've seen from this set feature bust shots. Nice close-ups, but very rooted in the 70's, which I guess captures the period just right. Chris Knapp looks like Ron Kittle in his picture. This was five to six years before Kitty first played. I'd say this is a nice small niche set.

1977 Topps Revisited

Just chalk it up to the joys of collecting. While I was researching the Ken Brett article, I found this card on the left. While I had heard about this card before, it completely slipped my mind that Ken may be in a White Sox uniform on the card.

This took me by surprise last night. I normally look for examples on Beckett's site, so I don't have to pull my cards out and scan them. I knew what card I wanted, so I put Ken Brett's name and 1977 Topps in the search engine on Beckett's online price guide. When two cards popped up, I did a double take.

I thought I was done with the 1977 White Sox team set. Apparently not. You see, I make super team sets. If a player is shown in a White Sox uniform, I collect it. It doesn't matter if he's listed on another team, like a lot of today's releases, just as long as that Sox uniform is there. If the player is listed as being on the White Sox, but is shown in his previous uniform, I collect it. Multi-player/multi-team cards? I'm all over them, as long as a Sox player is on it.

So, even though brother George is shown in his powder blue Kansas City uniform, brother Ken is shown in the collared White Sox softball uniform. I'm on it!

Ken Brett

You're on top of the world. In 1967, you just became the youngest pitcher in World Series history and gave up no hits in both your appearances. Then after a stint in the Army Reserves, you come back and develop arm trouble. You have flashes of brilliance, but are ultimately eclipsed by one of your three younger baseball playing brothers. This was Ken Brett's life.

Ken played with 10 teams in 14 years. He played with the White Sox in parts of 1976 and 1977. Twice, he took a no-hitter into the ninth. The first was on May 27, 1974 with the Pirates. He settled for a 2 hit shutout in the first game of a doubleheader.

The second was almost two years later to the date on May 26, 1976 with the Chicago White Sox. With two outs in the ninth of a scoreless game, Jorge Orta left a slow roller down the third baseline untouched. It was scored a hit rather than an error and Ken was screwed out of another no hitter. The Sox won that game against the Angels 1-0 in the 11th. Ken pitched 10 innings.

Even though his brother George got more press, Ken was no slouch at hitting. Some say he was the best hitting pitcher of his era. Ken did hit .310 in 1974 for the Pirates. This was the same year he was the winning pitcher in the All-Star game. The year before, with the Phillies, he hit home runs in 4 consecutive starts. No matter what team he was on, Ken was always a fan favorite. The fans always love a gutsy pitcher who can hit. Ken was courted by 23 teams as an outfielder. The Red Sox selected him as the fourth overall pick in 1966, the only team who wanted him as a pitcher.

Ken finished his career playing with his brother George on the Royals in 1980 and 1981. Ken had a front row seat to watch his brother hit .390 in 1980. Ken played up his frequent team changes in a Miller Lite beer commercial in 1984. The punchline "Utica" led to a managerial job in Utica.

Sadly, Ken succumbed to brain cancer in 2003, after a six year battle. He was only 55 years old. He left behind a wife and a son and daughter, who are twins. I'm sure if there was no DH, Ken would've been part of the 1977 Southside Hitmen, at least every five days.