Bill Melton Passes Away

[Sleepy Harold]

 

[WhiteSox2023]

Man, I was just thinking about him during the past season as he called into the Sox postgame with Frank, Ozzie, and Chuck.  He definitely didn’t sound great.  Very tired.

RIP.

Edited December 5 by WhiteSox2023

[southsider2k5]

RIP Bill.  Great guy.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Damn. One of the best talking heads too.

[Fielder Jones]

Playing days were before my time but i liked him on air.  was that rare jock type that could deliver good dry humor on air.

[Lip Man 1]

Very sorry to hear that about Bill. Good player and a solid broadcaster.

[Green Line]

This is so sad and unexpected.  RIP Bill, will miss your commentary.

[Rowand44]

Damn, RIP Bill.

[joejoesox]

he was great on the pre and post shows, missed him when he stepped away.  never got to see him play 

[Quin]

Aw man. Melton always came across as a such a good dude. Rest in peace.

[fathom]

Damn, he had awesome stories.  RIP

[Kyyle23]

RIP to the big man, he was always fun in postgame 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Part of my childhood died. RIP Beltin' Bill.

There he is with Nancy Faust (with her Sandy Duncan doo) and Wilbur Wood. 

[TaylorStSox]

RIP. He always reminded me of my grandpa when he did the pre/post games.

[Lip Man 1]

Some of Bill's notations from my This Day In White Sox History file. Had the chance to meet him when I co-hosted the 40th Anniversary of the 1972 team in 2012 that was done in association with the Chicago Baseball Museum and the White Sox. Was really a great guy:

March 12, 1973 - Sox third baseman and former 1971 A.L. home run champ, Bill Melton, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

 

The caption read, “Chicago Comes Out Swinging. Slugger Bill Melton.”

 

Melton would have a nice comeback season after missing most of 1972 with a herniated disc. He’d hit .277 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI’s. He’d be traded to the Angels after the 1975 campaign.

 

April 7, 1971 - Charlie Finley, the A’s owner, got the first regularly scheduled opening day double header in history but was stunned when the Sox under manager Chuck Tanner beat them twice 6-5 and 12-4 at the Oakland Coliseum.

 

Tommy John and Bart Johnson were the winning pitchers. The Sox clubbed five home runs on the day, including a grand slam by Bill Melton. It should have been six homers except that Carlos May somehow missed touching home plate on his blast. A’s catcher Gene Tenace picked up on it and tagged him out when he was sitting in the dugout. It went as a triple in the scorebook and two RBI’s. 

 

May 31, 1970 - The torpid White Sox, on their way to the worst single season in franchise history annihilated the Red Sox in Boston 22-13. The Sox banged out 24 hits, Luis Aparicio and Walt Williams had five each with Bill Melton knocking in four RBI’s. Williams also scored five runs. The Sox had innings where they scored seven, six, four and three runs. The Sox victim that afternoon? None other than former Sox star pitcher Gary Peters who lasted less than an inning. It was the second most runs ever scored in a single game by the franchise.

 

June 24, 1969 - In the second game of a double header in Seattle, Sox third baseman Bill Melton slugged three home runs in the 7-6 win. All were solo blasts. The Sox took the first game as well winning 6-4 with relief pitcher Wilbur Wood picking up wins in both games allowing only two hits in almost six innings of work.

 

June 24, 1972 - Behind the inspired play of Dick Allen, Wilbur Wood, Stan Bahnsen, Rich “Goose” Gossage, Terry Forster and Carlos May, the Sox were in the middle of a pennant chase when the bizarre injury curse struck again.

 

Third baseman Bill Melton fell off a ladder damaging his back during the previous off season and had been playing in pain ever since. The defending American League home run champion was put on the disabled list and lost for the rest of the year when it was discovered he had a herniated disk. He only played in 57 games with seven home runs and 30 RBI’s.

 

The reason he was on the ladder? His young son was with him as he was re-nailing some patio roof shingles when the boy started to slide towards the edge. Melton caught him but fell backwards on to the ground right on his tailbone.  

 

The Sox would finish five and a half games behind the Oakland A’s with a record of 87-67.

 

August 7, 1970 - In the midst of the worst season in franchise history, some smiles were seen after the Sox unveiled the “Big White Machine,” at Comiskey Park. The car was a 1929 Ford, rebuilt and put together by Sox players Ed Herrmann, Bill Melton, Syd O’Brien and the folks at Hawkinson Ford (now known as Hawk Ford). It circled the Comiskey Park warning track every time the Sox won a home game (which wasn’t often!)

 

August 21, 1973 - Sox pitcher Stan Bahnsen took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Cleveland. After getting the first two outs, former Sox outfielder Walt Williams got a ground single to left past third baseman Bill Melton. Melton inexplicably, was playing in, anticipating a possible bunt from Williams who later said under no circumstances would he try to break up a no-hitter by bunting late in the game.

 

Stan then got the final out finishing with a one-hitter, striking out four, in the 4-0 win.

 

September 21, 1970 - For the first time in 69 seasons, the Sox finally had a 30-home run man. Bill Melton got an upper deck shot off the Royals Aurelio Monteagudo, who pitched for the Sox the year before, for the most Sox home runs in a season at that time. That same day Luis Aparicio got his final hit in a Sox uniform. He had 1,576 of them for the White Sox.

 

Just 672 fans were on hand to see the double header at Comiskey Park as the Sox were closing out the worst season in franchise history.

 

September 30, 1971 - When Bill Melton smashed a home run on the last day of the season off the Brewers Bill Parsons in the third inning, he became the first Sox player to ever win a home run championship. Melton hit three home runs in the final two games to pass former Sox player Norm Cash and Reggie Jackson for the title. Typically, White Sox, he only had 33, the lowest total for a champ since 1965. In an effort to give Melton an additional at bat or two, manager Chuck Tanner had the power hitter leading off in the Sox final two games. His homer was the difference in a 2-1 win.

 

December 11, 1975 – Sox G.M. Roland Hemond sent third baseman Bill Melton, a former A.L. home run champ, and pitcher Steve Dunning to California for first baseman Jim Spencer and outfielder Morris Nettles.

 

Melton had a bad back and had worn out his welcome with the team, getting into a shouting match in a Milwaukee hotel lobby with broadcaster Harry Caray.

 

Spencer meanwhile would win a Gold Glove for his defensive prowess saving many errors. He also had 18 home runs and 69 RBI’s for the “South Side Hit Men”, twice driving in eight runs in a game in 1977. Both came at Comiskey Park against the Indians and then the Twins.

 

 

 

 

[Milkman delivers]

He is the standard by which I judge other Sox pre- and post-game announcers. He introduced me to the Sox when I first got really into the team, and nobody has stacked up since.

Rest in peace.

[The Beast]

RIP Bill Melton. He was great on TV and seemed like a wonderful man.

[WestEddy]

Wilbur Wood, Dick Allen and Bill Melton were my childhood idols. Very sad day. RIP.

[Saufley]

One of the good guys. Have his autographed picture from the "old days" hanging in my den.

[Lip Man 1]

Terrific story on Bill's career in the Tribune, including a bunch of photos.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/12/05/bill-melton-chicago-white-sox-obit/

 

[GreenSox]

Sad news.

May he rest in peace.

[Dick Allen]

He was a great guy. My wife is a lawyer and they have to go these things for credit every year, so she went to sports law thing and Bill was speaking.  A couple of years later we were at one of those Grinder's Bashes they used to hold. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, Bill and my wife were talking. She told him what a great job he did giving his presentation, and he said he was really nervous because he was the only non lawyer in the room. Then I told him my story. I was a little guy. Mayonnaise disgusts me. When he went the last day for the HR title, after I ate my cereal, I stuck my face in a jar of mayo. It made me throw up and get to stay at home from school to watch the game. He batted leadoff to maximize his chances, and he did it.

Edited December 5 by Dick Allen

[Texsox]

Sad day

[South Side Fireworks Man]

Sad to hear about Bill Melton.  If only he didn't fall off that ladder the Sox would have probably won the pennant in '72, and he probably would have gone on to have a greater career as a good defensive slugging third baseman.  

I remember one day I went to a Sox game and it was so hot the third baseman was Melton.

RIP Bill, you will be missed.

 

[Lip Man 1]

47 minutes ago, South Side Fireworks Man said:

Sad to hear about Bill Melton.  If only he didn't fall off that ladder the Sox would have probably won the pennant in '72, and he probably would have gone on to have a greater career as a good defensive slugging third baseman.  

I remember one day I went to a Sox game and it was so hot the third baseman was Melton.

RIP Bill, you will be missed.

 

He actually fell off his ladder while keeping his son from falling off his patio roof. He was re-nailing some shingles at the time.  Fell right on his tailbone. Sox tried everything to help including shots with extract from papayas but nothing worked and he went on the DL in late June after only 57 games.  

Edited December 5 by Lip Man 1