What does it take to get a Rookie of the Year, home run hitter, Ron Kittle to come to Huntley?
Kittle said, “After Glenn sending 6000 emails, the White Sox decided the only way to stop it was to have me come out. I am Ambassador for the White Sox. I represent the team in and around the community.”
Kittle is a former American left fielder and designated hitter in major league baseball. He is known for the number of homeruns he made during his career reported at 176 and 460 runs batted in. Seven of those home runs were onto the roof at Old Comiskey Park. Kittle hit 35 home runs his first full season, breaking the Chicago White Sox record for home runs in 1934 by Zeke Bonura with 27 home runs. Kittle’s record stood until it was broken in 2014, by Jose Abreu, who hit 36. In his rookie year, Kittle was named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year. Kittle played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Baltimore Orioles.
Kittle said, “I grew up in Gary, Indiana. I was 24 years old when I broke into the big leagues with the Chicago White Sox.”
How would he describe himself?
Kittle said, “I believe in what is good. I am a good person, blatantly honest. And I can make anything. I like to work with my hands.”
When did he start playing baseball?
Kittle said, “I loved all sports, I was a three-sport athlete in high school. I played basketball and football probably better than baseball. The reason I wanted baseball more is that I was told I would never play baseball with glasses. It’s always been my nature to do what people say I can’t.”
Kittle worked as a steelworker after high school. Kittle said, “My graduation gift from my dad was a piece of paper saying I was an apprentice ironworker. I worked overtime, saving money. As I was getting ready to go to work one Saturday, I happen to see that the Dodgers were holding a tryout camp that day in LaPorte, Indiana. My dad loved baseball. He didn’t want me to play basketball or football, he wanted me to play baseball. So, he told me to go for it. I went to the tryout camp at Ken Schreiber Field. 264 guys showed up to the tryout. I was the only one asked to stay back. On my last swing, I hit the ball so far it went out of the field and into a fresh bed of concrete they were pouring for a new sidewalk. With that, the Dodgers signed me to a minor league contract. My first game in the Midwest League was with the Clinton Dodgers. I was sliding across home plate, and a late and high throw came in. The catcher jumped to catch the ball and landed on my neck.”
Kittle was partially paralyzed, but with hard work and a surgery, he came back.
Kittle said, “I got a second chance. In 1979, I went to White Sox minor league teams in Knoxville and Appleton. I made it to Chicago at the end of the ’82 season.”
The club members and their guests in attendance listened to Kittle’s entertaining presentation and were lucky to have Kittle sign their memorabilia and take pictures.
Nick Iliadis said, “It was awesome having former Chicago White Sox Rookie of the Year 1983, number 42 Ron Kittle, as the guest speaker on Tuesday night, August 24. Very few of us, including myself, knew that Ron Kittle was so down to earth,
a regular guy, good speaker, excellent storyteller and especially, very funny. I don’t know how Glenn or any one of us can top this, besides a White Sox World Series Championship, I didn’t even miss our usual Sal’s Pizzas.”
Jim O Connor said, “Ron was a star player for the White Sox in the mid-’80s, winning Rookie of the Year and All-Star honors in 1983. His contributions helped lead the ’83 Sox to 99 victories and the American League Western Division title. He is an Indiana native and is loved by Sox fans. The White Sox Fan Club began in January of 2019, with 15 members. Through the efforts of our president, Glenn Groebli, we now number nearly 100.”
Glenn Groebli said, “What a great night for the Chicago White Sox Fan Club with Ron Kittle being our speaker for the evening. I was told that he is a down-to-earth type of guy and calls a spade a spade. Well, he certainly lived up to that. He is also a great presenter with adding in a lot of humor.”
Anyone interested in joining the Chicago White Sox Fan Club can contact Glenn Groebli at ggroebli@aol.com.
