On Thursday the White Sox confirmed that the team will wear 1983 throwback uniforms at every Sunday home game this coming season to honor of the 30th anniversary of the team that captured the American League West title. The uniforms will be another feature of the new Family Sundays promotion being introduced in 2013 that will also include reduced ticket and parking prices and special autograph sessions with current and former players along the entrance ramps.
The red, navy and white uniforms with SOX written across the front in block lettering and unique placement of uniform numbers on the left thigh were already popular and widely-sold among fans. The version the White Sox will wear on Sundays also will include the same style of patch on the left sleeve that was worn in 1983, which commemorated the 50th iteration of the MLB All Star-Game, played in Old Comiskey Park that season.
The announcement of the Sunday uniform plans comes two days before the 1983 Winning Ugly squad is to be honored at a panel session at SoxFest this Saturday, where Tony La Russa, Tom Paciorek, Roland Hemond, Greg Luzinsky and Harold Baines are expected to attend.
In many ways the plan is a sequel of last seasons honoring of the 1972 team, which also featured throwback uniforms every Sunday. Just as last year, Sunday games will feature retro races with runners dressed in costumes of former White Sox stars. Large, costume versions of Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines and Ron Kittle (seen at right) will race each other during the 7th inning stretch of every Sunday game at U.S. Cellular Field.
On a conference call, White Sox Vice President of Marketing Brooks Boyer said that the promotion was intended not just to trigger memories of the 1983 season but would also serve to introduce a new generation of fans to the team.