White Sox Legend Bill Melton Dies At 79

Former White Sox third baseman Bill Melton died Thursday morning in Phoenix at the age of 79. 

According to CHSN’s Chuck Garfein, Melton had been dealing with health problems recently. The White Sox posted on social media that Melton died “after a brief illness” but further details have yet to be released. 

Melton played a decade in the major leagues, including eight seasons on the Southside of Chicago. His power earned him the nickname Beltin’ Bill Melton. He hit 20-plus homers in five of his eight seasons in Chicago and was named an All-Star in 1971. During the 1971 campaign, Melton tied his career high of 33 home runs and finished 13th in the MVP voting. His 154 home runs with the club rank ninth on the White Sox all-time leaderboard. 

Melton also played a role in Micahel Jordan’s baseball career. After playing his final MLB season in Cleveland in 1977, Melton returned to Chicago in 1992 to become a White Sox team ambassador and part-time scout. When Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA in 1993, Melton was one of his hitting instructors as he tried to switch to baseball. Jordan played one season in the White Sox organization for the Birmingham Barrons. 

Melton later emerged as a popular pre and post-game analyst for WGN and Comcast SportsNet Chicago. He retired from his role as an analyst in 2020. 

“Bill Melton enjoyed two tremendous careers with the White Sox. “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,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement “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.”