WBWSF Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson died today. He was responsible for saving the White Sox for Chicago. If it wasn't for him the team would have moved to Florida and don't let anybody tell you differently. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptatc Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 26 minutes ago, WBWSF said: Former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson died today. He was responsible for saving the White Sox for Chicago. If it wasn't for him the team would have moved to Florida and don't let anybody tell you differently. No doubt. I remember listening to that legislative session live on the radio when a number of them started singing Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey goodbye to the Sox. He did save them from leaving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksnort Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Did not even know that the Sox moving to Florida was even a thing. Did some research...very interesting. RIP Jim Thompson and prayers/condolences to his family. Sounds like this was a sudden, unexpected event. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCCWS Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 18 minutes ago, ScooterMcGee said: Did not even know that the Sox moving to Florida was even a thing. Did some research...very interesting. RIP Jim Thompson and prayers/condolences to his family. Sounds like this was a sudden, unexpected event. Supposedly Tampa/St Pete before the Rays would eventually land there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Soxfan Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 He’s my hero for keeping Sox in Chicago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WBWSF Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 1 hour ago, ScooterMcGee said: Did not even know that the Sox moving to Florida was even a thing. Did some research...very interesting. RIP Jim Thompson and prayers/condolences to his family. Sounds like this was a sudden, unexpected event. It was one of the ugliest situations in White Sox history. Former co-owner Eddie Einhorn wanted to move the team to Florida.He said Florida was the greatest opportunity for MLB since the Dodgers moved to LA. Einhorn was walking around Chicago with Florida White Sox shirts. He made so many ugly comments about the White Sox fanbase, he was getting death threats. He was so scared he hired body guards to protect him. Former sports writer Jerome Holtzman said JR took a poll of White Sox investors and half of them wanted to move to Florida. They bought into Einhorns bullshit that Florida was the land of opportunity for baseball. If Governor Thompson hadn't saved the day both JR and Einhorn were going to fly to Florida the very next day to sign the papers to move the team to Florida the following season. JR has said a number of times that he would of sold the Bulls if the White Sox had moved to florida. Say what you want about JR but the one positive thing I can say about him is he is very good at making money. Moving the White Sox to Florida would have been the biggest mistake of his life. It would have been the worse move in the history of sports ownerships. If he would have moved the White Sox to Florida he would have been part owner of the Florida/Tampa Bay White Sox. By staying in Chicago he remained part owner of the Chicago White Sox, part owner of the Chicago Bulls and part owner of the United Center. Baseball in Florida/Tampa Bay has been a flop. The Rays have already gone thru a number of ownerships. The only reason why the team hasn't moved is because they are locked into there lease for another 8 years. If things don't change in St. Pete the next few years that team will move out of there. The main thing is that Governor Thompson saved the team for Chicago. Another positive thing was Einhorn sold most of his shares of the White Sox to JR and he left the scene. You rarely saw him or heard from him after that. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baker Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Legend has it Big Jim actually moved the clock dial back an hour to keep the session alive in order to close the deal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 RIP Jim Thompson. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be a White Sox fan by keeping the team here instead of moving the team. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-cell-at-25-haugh-spt-0522-20160521-column.html%3foutputType=amp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/December-2011/When-Michael-Madigan-and-Big-Jim-Thompson-Stopped-Time-to-Save-the-White-Sox/ There’s a funny thing, though: Thompson didn’t get his votes at midnight. “We were live on the air, and twelve o’clock came and went,” recalled Mark Douglas, a former reporter for WTSP-TV St. Petersburg who was embedded at the Illinois Statehouse. “John Wilson, our news anchor at the time, says ‘Mark, help me out here. I thought the vote had to be made by midnight.’ Sure enough, the clock in the chamber was stuck at a few minutes before midnight. Since they’d stopped the clock, they had not officially met their deadline.” Even by the down-and-dirty standards of Illinois politics, this was a jarring move. [Usual litany of city and state political crimes redacted. You know the drill.] But never in Illinois had lawmakers stopped time to get what they wanted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWINFan Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 1 hour ago, WBWSF said: It was one of the ugliest situations in White Sox history. Former co-owner Eddie Einhorn wanted to move the team to Florida.He said Florida was the greatest opportunity for MLB since the Dodgers moved to LA. Einhorn was walking around Chicago with Florida White Sox shirts. He made so many ugly comments about the White Sox fanbase, he was getting death threats. He was so scared he hired body guards to protect him. Former sports writer Jerome Holtzman said JR took a poll of White Sox investors and half of them wanted to move to Florida. They bought into Einhorns bullshit that Florida was the land of opportunity for baseball. If Governor Thompson hadn't saved the day both JR and Einhorn were going to fly to Florida the very next day to sign the papers to move the team to Florida the following season. JR has said a number of times that he would of sold the Bulls if the White Sox had moved to florida. Say what you want about JR but the one positive thing I can say about him is he is very good at making money. Moving the White Sox to Florida would have been the biggest mistake of his life. It would have been the worse move in the history of sports ownerships. If he would have moved the White Sox to Florida he would have been part owner of the Florida/Tampa Bay White Sox. By staying in Chicago he remained part owner of the Chicago White Sox, part owner of the Chicago Bulls and part owner of the United Center. Baseball in Florida/Tampa Bay has been a flop. The Rays have already gone thru a number of ownerships. The only reason why the team hasn't moved is because they are locked into there lease for another 8 years. If things don't change in St. Pete the next few years that team will move out of there. The main thing is that Governor Thompson saved the team for Chicago. Another positive thing was Einhorn sold most of his shares of the White Sox to JR and he left the scene. You rarely saw him or heard from him after that. Thompson was a dedicated governor and a good man. He helped save Reinsdorf and Einhorn from themselves. You are so right. Moving the White Sox to Florida would have been a disaster and would have, for all purposes, destroyed the franchise. Too bad there has been only 4 division titles in the near 30 years of the new stadium. Einhorn made a history of knocking White Sox fans. The concept of fan alienation began with him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Friday Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 (edited) I’m a way it’s funny because I don’t live in Chicago, and never will again hopefully. But it would really hurt me if the team moved to another city. The white sox belong in Chicago. Thanks Jim. Edited August 15, 2020 by Blackout Friday 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 I‘M pretty sure if the White Sox had moved, another team would have moved to Chicago eventually. Maybe Oakland or Minnesota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grinder Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 IIRC didnt JR play the State for a sweetheart deal from Florida that turns out wasnt so sweetheart after all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 1 hour ago, The Grinder said: IIRC didnt JR play the State for a sweetheart deal from Florida that turns out wasnt so sweetheart after all? No, it's pretty sweetheart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Side Fireworks Man Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 8 hours ago, WBWSF said: It was one of the ugliest situations in White Sox history. Former co-owner Eddie Einhorn wanted to move the team to Florida.He said Florida was the greatest opportunity for MLB since the Dodgers moved to LA. Einhorn was walking around Chicago with Florida White Sox shirts. He made so many ugly comments about the White Sox fanbase, he was getting death threats. He was so scared he hired body guards to protect him. Former sports writer Jerome Holtzman said JR took a poll of White Sox investors and half of them wanted to move to Florida. They bought into Einhorns bullshit that Florida was the land of opportunity for baseball. If Governor Thompson hadn't saved the day both JR and Einhorn were going to fly to Florida the very next day to sign the papers to move the team to Florida the following season. JR has said a number of times that he would of sold the Bulls if the White Sox had moved to florida. Say what you want about JR but the one positive thing I can say about him is he is very good at making money. Moving the White Sox to Florida would have been the biggest mistake of his life. It would have been the worse move in the history of sports ownerships. If he would have moved the White Sox to Florida he would have been part owner of the Florida/Tampa Bay White Sox. By staying in Chicago he remained part owner of the Chicago White Sox, part owner of the Chicago Bulls and part owner of the United Center. Baseball in Florida/Tampa Bay has been a flop. The Rays have already gone thru a number of ownerships. The only reason why the team hasn't moved is because they are locked into there lease for another 8 years. If things don't change in St. Pete the next few years that team will move out of there. The main thing is that Governor Thompson saved the team for Chicago. Another positive thing was Einhorn sold most of his shares of the White Sox to JR and he left the scene. You rarely saw him or heard from him after that. Einhorn was a piece of shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WBWSF Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 3 minutes ago, South Side Fireworks Man said: Einhorn was a piece of shit. I always thought Einhorn was deeply wounded by the lack of success of his Sportsvision Tv network. He jumped the gun with Sportsvision. The Chicagoland area was not wired for cable yet. If fans wanted Sportsvision they had to buy a expensive box which Sportsvision was on.. He should of waited until the Chicagoland area was wired for cable. The average fan wasn't going to buy an expensive package to see White Sox games when they could watch the Cubs for nothing. Also Einhorn had a massive ego. He didn't like playing second fiddle to the Cubs. There were no tears shed when he left the scene here in Chicago. When he sold most of his shares of the White Sox to JR he was rarely seen here in Chicago. When Einhorn died a few years ago I thought it was disgraceful that JR put Eddie patches on the players uniforms for that entire season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradMc Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, NWINFan said: Thompson was a dedicated governor and a good man. He helped save Reinsdorf and Einhorn from themselves. You are so right. Moving the White Sox to Florida would have been a disaster and would have, for all purposes, destroyed the franchise. Too bad there has been only 4 division titles in the near 30 years of the new stadium. Einhorn made a history of knocking White Sox fans. The concept of fan alienation began with him. Finley was ready to move the Oakland A's to Chicago had Reinsdorf and Einhorn really been that stupid and moved. They wouldn't have lasted 3 years in Florida. And for all of that arm twisting we've got 5 trips to post seasons in nearly 40 years and a championship that required career years from virtually the entire team. Edited August 16, 2020 by GradMc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 6 hours ago, The Grinder said: IIRC didnt JR play the State for a sweetheart deal from Florida that turns out wasnt so sweetheart after all? 5 hours ago, Kyyle23 said: No, it's pretty sweetheart The deal is excellent. The stadium itself wasn't, at least compared to the parks that came right afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWINFan Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 14 hours ago, WBWSF said: I always thought Einhorn was deeply wounded by the lack of success of his Sportsvision Tv network. He jumped the gun with Sportsvision. The Chicagoland area was not wired for cable yet. If fans wanted Sportsvision they had to buy a expensive box which Sportsvision was on.. He should of waited until the Chicagoland area was wired for cable. The average fan wasn't going to buy an expensive package to see White Sox games when they could watch the Cubs for nothing. Also Einhorn had a massive ego. He didn't like playing second fiddle to the Cubs. There were no tears shed when he left the scene here in Chicago. When he sold most of his shares of the White Sox to JR he was rarely seen here in Chicago. When Einhorn died a few years ago I thought it was disgraceful that JR put Eddie patches on the players uniforms for that entire season. I don't think Einhorn was as bad as some think, but he didn't understand White Sox fans and probably didn't want to. He came down on fans for attendance in 1982. 1982 was the first full year for the ownership. Attendance increased over 700,000 from 1980. Also, at that time, 1982 was one of the best years for attendance in franchise history. I doubted that Einhorn knew anything about that history, and he came across as self-entitled. I had a booth at SoxFest one year. Einhorn' s wife and son had a booth next to me. His son had made a documentary on the 1983 division winners. To be polite, I introduced myself to Mrs. Einhorn. She seemed somewhat shocked that someone was acting nice to her. Obviously, his family had felt the fan backlash. Einhorn didn't get certain things. I was told by one Chicago sportswriter that Einhorn could be a decent guy. I just can't think of any contributions he made to the franchise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WBWSF Posted August 16, 2020 Author Share Posted August 16, 2020 37 minutes ago, NWINFan said: I don't think Einhorn was as bad as some think, but he didn't understand White Sox fans and probably didn't want to. He came down on fans for attendance in 1982. 1982 was the first full year for the ownership. Attendance increased over 700,000 from 1980. Also, at that time, 1982 was one of the best years for attendance in franchise history. I doubted that Einhorn knew anything about that history, and he came across as self-entitled. I had a booth at SoxFest one year. Einhorn' s wife and son had a booth next to me. His son had made a documentary on the 1983 division winners. To be polite, I introduced myself to Mrs. Einhorn. She seemed somewhat shocked that someone was acting nice to her. Obviously, his family had felt the fan backlash. Einhorn didn't get certain things. I was told by one Chicago sportswriter that Einhorn could be a decent guy. I just can't think of any contributions he made to the franchise. 1982 was the first year of Einhorns Sportsvision fiasco. His feuds with Harry Caray and sportswriter Bill Gleason didn't endure him to many White Sox fans either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thad Bosley Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 14 hours ago, GradMc said: Finley was ready to move the Oakland A's to Chicago had Reinsdorf and Einhorn really been that stupid and moved. They wouldn't have lasted 3 years in Florida. And for all of that arm twisting we've got 5 trips to post seasons in nearly 40 years and a championship that required career years from virtually the entire team. And that sums up all the White Sox fan base has received after four decades of the organization being run by Reinsdorf, and for a long period of time, Einhorn as well. Worked out well for them, they made boatloads of money off the back’s of taxpayers. For the fans, though, not so much. Very little to cheer about over that period of time. Reinsdorf’s only chance to salvage his legacy as owner of the Sox is if the rebuild cranks out a significant run in the next several years. Despite the early struggles this year, this team should be primed to do just that. We shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWINFan Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 2 hours ago, WBWSF said: 1982 was the first year of Einhorns Sportsvision fiasco. His feuds with Harry Caray and sportswriter Bill Gleason didn't endure him to many White Sox fans either. Einhorn was asking a lot. The team just came out of the 1970s when it had just two winning seasons and an 106-loss season in 1970. He was asking people to have faith and begin paying for the privilege of watching the team on TV during a deep economic downturn. Many blue-collar workers, thought of as the typical White Sox fan, were being laid off by the tens of thousands. I was one of those laid off. I went to two games that year and both times I was able to get free tickets. I was in no position to buy into Sportsvision. Right on the South Side U.S. Steel had a plant that had 10,000 workers at one time. By the early 1980s, it had 900. I have no idea if Einhorn was even aware of the local economic situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NO!!MARY!!! Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 10:34 AM, Baker said: Legend has it Big Jim actually moved the clock dial back an hour to keep the session alive in order to close the deal. That’s a myth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NO!!MARY!!! Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 7:55 PM, GradMc said: Finley was ready to move the Oakland A's to Chicago had Reinsdorf and Einhorn really been that stupid and moved. They wouldn't have lasted 3 years in Florida. And for all of that arm twisting we've got 5 trips to post seasons in nearly 40 years and a championship that required career years from virtually the entire team. Charlie Finley was long gone by 1988. I believe you are thinking of 1975. He was going to move the A’s to Chicago had the Sox moved to Seattle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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