Bill Melton obit

Former White Sox star, broadcaster Bill Melton dies at 79

Melton played for eight seasons with the White Sox and spent decades as a broadcaster

 

He was not on the list.

Former Chicago White Sox player and broadcaster Bill Melton has passed away at the age of 79 after a brief illness, the team confirmed on Thursday.

Melton made his MLB debut with the White Sox in 1968, and earned the nickname “Beltin’ Bill” Melton for his prodigious power and penchant for driving in clutch RBI’s.

Bill Melton, who played 10 seasons in the major leagues, including eight with the White Sox, and served as a popular pre and postgame analyst for White Sox telecasts for over two decades, passed away early this morning in Phoenix after a brief illness. He was 79 years old. pic.twitter.com/I5A81Zd8No

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) December 5, 2024

“Bill Melton enjoyed two tremendous careers with the White Sox,” White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “His first came as a celebrated home run king for White Sox teams in the early 1970s, where 'Beltin Bill' brought power to a franchise that played its home games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Photos of Bill wearing his home run crown and others of him posing with ballpark organist Nancy Faust still generate smiles to this day. Bill's second career came as a well-liked and respected pre and postgame television analyst, where on a nightly basis Sox fans saw his passion for the team, win or lose. Bill was a friend to many at the White Sox and around baseball, and his booming voice will be missed. Our sympathies go out to his wife Tess, and all of their family and friends."

In 10 MLB seasons, primarily with the White Sox, Melton hit 160 career home runs and drove in 591 RBI’s. He was the White Sox leader in career home runs before he was passed by Harold Baines, with two consecutive seasons of 30-plus home runs and three seasons of 80-plus RBI’s with the South Siders.

Melton became the first player to hit 30 or more home runs for the White Sox in a single season when he accomplished the feat in 1970.

He was an All-Star in the 1971 season for Chicago, and received MVP votes for the first time in his MLB career.

Melton made his major league debut on May 4, 1968, and was a mainstay at third for the White Sox for the next seven years. After leading the Sox in home runs in 1969 with 23, Melton came into his own in 1970, hitting 33 home runs and again leading the team. In 1971, Melton had arguably his best season as he made the all-star team and led the American League with 33 home runs – the first time a White Sox player had led the league in home runs. Melton's production declined in 1972 after he missed most of the season with two herniated discs resulting from trying to break his son's fall from their garage roof. The injury sapped his power such that he would not again hit more than 21 home runs in a year. Before his back problems, Melton was a popular player, but when his play began to suffer due to his back injury, he became the target of fans and media. Melton especially drew the ire of White Sox broadcaster Harry Caray, who often railed against Beltin' Bill for his fielding problems. Never good with the glove, finishing either third or fourth in the league for errors by a third baseman every year except his rookie and injury-shortened 1972 seasons, Melton led the league with 24 errors in 1974 and 26 in 1975.

He was traded along with Steve Dunning from the White Sox to the Angels for Jim Spencer and Morris Nettles on December 11, 1975. Expected to become the new designated hitter, Melton was the second right-handed power batter along with Bobby Bonds to have been obtained by the Angels that day. His production continued to decrease as he hit .208 with 6 home runs in 118 games and he clashed with the manager Dick Williams. Following the 1976 season, he was traded again, this time to the Indians for a player to be named later (ultimately relief pitcher Stan Perzanowski) and cash. After appearing in only 50 games for the Indians in 1977, hitting only .241 with no home runs, he retired following the season.

After working with his father manufacturing skateboard wheels and becoming a real estate agent following retirement, Melton took a position as a community relations representative for the White Sox in 1992. In 1998, Melton was hired by WGN to be a White Sox pre- and postgame television analyst. In 2005, he was hired by Comcast SportsNet Chicago in a similar position.

Until 1987, Melton was the White Sox' all-time home run leader. He was passed in 1987 by Harold Baines, who was then overtaken by Carlton Fisk in 1990. Fisk was later bypassed by Frank Thomas. He is currently eighth on the White Sox all-time home runs list and tenth on the team's all-time strikeouts list.

Melton died following a brief illness in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 5, 2024, at the age of 79.