Bill Melton is an important figure in White Sox history. In 1971 he hit a league-leading 33 homers. It was the first time in American League history that a South Sider was atop the home run leaderboard.
The slugger belted his 136th homer as a Sox player on August 16th, 1974. The total pushed Melton past Minnie Minoso as the franchise leader in round trippers. Beltin’ Bill held the mark for more than a dozen years until Harold Baines broke it in 1987.
Shown above is Melton’s response to identify his greatest thrill. He identifies his lone All Star campaign when his 33 bombs led the way. He also tells the story of how it came to be.
Melton writes, “1971 leading AL in HRs. First Sox player in their history. Not so much leading the Am. League, but how I did it. I hit two (2) the night before to tie both Reggie Jackson + Norm Cash. All three tied @ 32 HR. Final game – second @ bat off Bill Parsons – Brewers – HR #33.”
The slugger has signed the form at the bottom of the page.