Ed Farmer was one of the best relievers in White Sox history

To White Sox fans, Ed Farmer was the voice that came out of their radios and narrated countless summer nights on the South Side.

And to White Sox fans old enough to remember, he was also one of the best relief pitchers in team history.

Farmer logged 219.2 innings out of the bullpen for his hometown team from 1979 to 1981. He saved a total of 54 games, including 30 during the 1980 season when he represented the White Sox at the All-Star Game.

Excluding the three starts he made in 1979 shortly after joining the White Sox in a trade with the Texas Rangers, Farmer posted a 2.96 ERA as a relief arm that ranks eighth among qualified relievers in the last 41 seasons of White Sox baseball.

White Sox relief ERA leaders since 1979:

1. Jesse Crain, 2.10 ERA, 150 innings
2. Mike Proly, 2.53 ERA, 188.2 innings
3. Barry Jones, 2.67 ERA, 138 innings
4. Zach Putnam, 2.71 ERA, 139.1 innings
5. Roberto Hernandez, 2.77 ERA, 393.1 innings
6. Damaso Marte, 2.78 ERA, 259 innings
7. Keith Foulke, 2.87 ERA, 446 innings
8. Ed Farmer, 2.96 ERA, 219.2 innings

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Farmer was spectacular upon his arrival to the South Side. In 39 relief appearances in 1979, Farmer had a razor-thin 1.07 ERA in 67.1 innings, piling up 14 saves.

In 1980, he earned an All-Star berth with a stellar first half, posting a 3.00 ERA and saving 17 games in 57 innings. On the campaign as a whole, he had a 3.34 ERA and 30 saves, the first time that had happened in club history. Farmer's 30 saves in 1980 still rank as one of the top 16 single-season totals in White Sox history.

His 1981 season did not stack up quite as well. He had a 4.61 ERA in 42 appearances. But his efforts in the two years prior kept his White Sox career numbers strong enough to put him among the top relievers the team has seen in the last half-century.

To this day, Farmer ranks 11th in saves, 14th in relief innings pitched and 19th in games finished in team history. And he accomplished all of that before bringing White Sox baseball to fans across Chicago for three decades.

A South Side native, Farmer will forever be a White Sox legend for his contributions both on and off the field.