Legendary Chicago Slugger, Television Analyst, Dies at 79

Bill Melton, a veteran of 10 major league seasons and a longtime fixture on Chicago White Sox telecasts, died Thursday at age 79.

Melton hit 33 home runs and made the American League All-Star team in 1971, becoming the first White Sox player ever to lead his league in home runs. He retired in 1977 with a career .253 batting average and 160 home runs for the White Sox, California Angels and Cleveland Indians.

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

From 1998-2020, Melton worked as an analyst on the White Sox’s regional sports broadcasts on WGN, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago.

A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, Melton was signed out of Citrus College in Glendora, California in 1964 — the last year before Major League Baseball instituted an amateur draft. Four years later, he made his major league debut with the White Sox, kicking off an eight-year career in the Windy City.

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Primarily a third baseman, Melton quickly impressed the league with his power. From 1969-71, he hit 89 home runs, a high total in a dominant era for pitching. No White Sox player had ever hit 33 home runs in a single season before Melton did so in consecutive years (1970-71).

When Melton was traded to the California Angels in 1975, he held the White Sox all-time home run mark with 154 home runs. He is still ninth on the club’s all-time homer list.

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After playing one year in Anaheim, Melton was traded to Cleveland, where he finished his career in 1977.

Melton’s post-playing career offered him some interesting turns in the spotlight. In 1992, he relocated from Southern California to Chicago. He took a job with the White Sox and made public relations appearances on behalf of the club. He also worked as a part-time scout.

When Michael Jordan first signed a minor league contract with the White Sox in 1993, attempting to transition from basketball to baseball, Melton was tapped to be Jordan’s hitting coach.

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“I can only say I’ve seen guys I’ve signed as Class A players doing half what he’s doing now,” he said of Jordan at the time in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

In 1998, Melton moved to television, hosting White Sox pregame and postgame shows.

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

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