Lollar was noted as one of the finest handlers of pitchers and his success was attributed to the fact that pitchers liked his easy going style and his ability to call for the correct pitches - when the game was on the line in the late innings.

Sherm Lollar helped bring the pennant to the Chicago White Sox in 1959 when he hit 22 homers, 84 RBI's and batted .265. Lollar led the AL backstops in fielding five times and his career .992 average is sixth best in baseball's history.

Sherm Lollar had 1415 hits, 155 career homers and a .264 batting average. baseballhistorian.com

Bob Shaw helped the White Sox win their first pennant (1959) since the Black Sox Scandal in 1919. In Game 5 of the World Series, Shaw beat the great Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0. The Dodgers took the series in 6 games. In 1960, Shaw slipped to 13-13.

The next year he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves and bounced back in 1962 to a 15-9 record, 2.80 ERA. Alleged to being a spitball pitcher, Bob Shaw denied it and said, "If they don't believe me, it's okay, the more they complain the better I like it". Traded to the S.F. Giants, Shaw's tally of wins rose to 16 with only 9 losses.

Bob Shaw's career stats: 108-98, appeared in 430 games with a 3.52 ERA... Baseball Historian.com

Michaels was a fine hitter but led the American League in errors three times. In 1947, he hit .273. In 1949 he played every scheduled game and compliled his highest batting average, hitting a solid .308 and led the White Sox team with 81 RBI's.

He was traded to the Washington Senators in 1951 to make room for future Hall of Famer Nellie Fox. He returned to the White Sox in 1954 and was beaned by a pitch which forced him to quit baseball. Cass Michaels career: .262 BA, 147 D's, 46 T's, 53 HR's in 4367 at bats, 508 R's and 501 RbI's.

In his first three seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Seerey led the American League in strikeouts. On July 13, 1945, he clubbed three homers in one game while a member of the Indians.

Traded to the White Sox, Seerey hit 4 home runs in a single game, July 18, 1948. The first three, he belted in his first three at bats and later hit a 11th inning game winning homer. In 1948, Seerey hit 19 home runs but again led the league with 102 K's in only 363 at bats. He was released in early 1949 at the age of 26.

Pat Seerey career: .224 batting average, 86 Hr's, 485 K's in 1815 at bats.

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White Sox Pitchers - 1949 Statistics

Randy Gumpert 13-16, 3.81 ERA in 34 Games... Bob Kuzava 10-6, 4.02 ERA in 29G... Bill Wight 15-13, 3.31 ERA in 35G... Al Gettel 2-5, 6.43 ERA in 19G... Billy Pierce 7-15, 3.88 ERA in 32G... Mickey Haefner 4-6, 4.37 ERA in 14G... Bob Cain 0-0, 2.45 ERA in 6G... Ed Klieman 2-0, 3.00 ERA in 18G...

Max Surkont 3-5, 4.78 ERA in 44G... Clyde Shoun 1-1, 5.79 ERA in 16G... Howie Judson 1-14, 4.58 ERA in 26G... Fred Bradley 0-0, 13.50 ERA in 1G... Jack Bruner 1-2, 8.22 ERA in 4G... Alex Carrasquel 0-0, 14.73 ERA in 3G... Bill Evans 0-1, 7.11 ERA in 4G... Ernest Groth 0-1, 5.40 ERA in 3G... Orval Grove 0-0, 54.00 ERA in 1G... Marino Pieretti 4-6, 5.51 ERA in 39G...

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Bill Wight, Pitcher, LH - originally signed by the Yanks in 1941, he spent three years in the Army during World War II and rejoined the New Yorks in '46. Traded to the White Sox in 1948, the flame-throwing 6ft, 1inch, southpaw went 9-20, 4.80 ERA for the last place team. However, he did lead the team in wins (9-20), in ERA with 4.80 and in innings 223.

Again in 1949, Wight led the Sox in wins (15-13), in ERA with 3.31 and in innings 245. In 1950, he posted a 10-16, 3.58 ERA and at season's end was traded to Boston (AL). And, his pick-off move to first base was regarded as the best in baseball.

Bill Wight had the misfortune of pitching mostly for bottom-feeding teams and hence his 12-year lifetime record was just 77-99, 3.95 ERA.

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Randy Gumpert, Pitcher RH - a well-regarded workhorse of the Chisox during this era, he completed 18 games in '49 while posting a 13-16 mark, 3.81 ERA, fanned 78, walked 83, and allowed 223 hits in 234 innings.

During the 1951, Randy Gumpert was used as a starter and reliever and was 9-8, 4.32 ERA in 32G, 16GS, 7GC, 141 innings and then was traded away when general manager Frank 'the Trader' Lane took over.

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Marino Pieretti, Pitcher Throws LH, B RH - debuted with Washington in '45, traded to the White Sox in 1949. The 5ft, 7inch-158pounder had a fine year in '49 despite missing time from elbow surgery. He started 1949 as a starter (9 games) and after his surgery was used in relief and appeared in 39 games, worked 116 innings, 25Ks, 54Ws and posted a 4-6 record. And, then was traded to Cleveland.

Marino Pieretti lifetime stats: 30-38 W/L, 4.53 ERA, 194G, 68GS, 21GC, 4 shutouts, 8 saves in 673 2/3 innings.

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White Sox - 1949 Batting Stats:

Luke Appling ss, .301 BA, 5Hr, 58 RBIs in 142 Games... Floyd Baker 3b, .260, 1Hr, 40 RBIs in 125G... Cass Michaels 2b, .308, 6Hr in 154G... Gordon Goldsberry 1b, .248, 1Hr, 13 RBIs in 39G... Chuck Kress 1b, .278, 1Hr, 44 RBIs in 97G... Dave Philley of, .286, 0Hr, 44 RBIs in 146G... Joe Tipton c, .204, 3Hr, 19 RBIs in 67G... Catfish Metkovich .237, 5Hr, 45 RBIs in 93G... Eddie Malone of, .271, 1Hr, 16 RBIs in 55G...

Gus Zernial of, .318, 5Hr, 38 RBIs in 73G... Don Wheeler c, .240, 1Hr, 22 RBIs in 67G... Herb Adams of, .293, 0Hr, 16 RBIs in 56G... Billy Bowers .192, 0hr, 2 RBIs in 26G... Fred Hancock ss, .135, 0Hr, 9 RBIs in 39G... Dick Lane .119, 0Hr, 4 RBIs in 12G... Earl Rapp, .259, 0Hr, 11 RBIs in 19G... Bud Souchock 1b, .234, 7Hr, 37 RBIs in 84G...

Jerry Scala of, .250, 1Hr, 13 RBIs in 37G... George Yankowski .167, 0Hr, 2 RBIs in 12G... Pat Seerey of, .000, 0 RBIs in 4G... Jim Baumer .400, 0Hr, 2 RBIs in 8G... Bill Higdon .304, 0Hr, 1 RBI in 11G... Don Holloway 1b, .000, 0 RBIs in 4G... Rocco 'Rocky' Krsnich 3b, .218, 1Hr, 9 RBIs in 16G... Johnny Ostrowski of, .266, 5Hr, 31 RBIs in 49G... Rocky Shawn .205, 0Hr, 5 RBIs in 24G...

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Floyd Baker, Third Baseman, Bats LH, T RH - an outstanding glove man with a strong throwing arm, after being traded to Chicago in 1945, Baker was one of the Sox main men in this era... in 1949, he lined 15 doubles, 4 triples 1 homer and scored 40 runs.

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Luke Appling, Shortstop, RH - when he retired in 1950, Luke Appling had played more games at shortstop than any player in history - 2422G, 2,749 career hits, and an outstanding lifetime batting mark of .310 from 1930-1950 - all with the Sox. Without a doubt one of the most popular players in White Sox history.

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Cass Michael, Second Baseman RH - in 1949 he played in every scheduled game and led the team in batting - a fine .308, and led the team with 83 RBIs, and in triples with 9. Debuted into the majors with the Sox as a 17-year old back in 1943. Rates with the best in baseball in fielding his position, posted a .973 career fielding percentage.

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Ed Malone, Catcher RH - hit .341 in the minors before joining the White Sox in mid-summer... and hit a solid .271, including 7 doubles in 55 games for the Chisox. He played two years in the major - both with the White Sox.

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Dave Philley, Outfielder Switch-hitter, T RH - one of the best clutch-hitter on the squad, Philey led the Sox in '49 with 84 runs scored, and led with 13 stolen bases... batted .286, lined 20 doubles and 8 triples, and collected 207 total bases in 146 games.