Jerry Koosman, one of the defining arms of the 1983 “Winning Ugly” White Sox, has died at 83.
For Sox fans, Koosman was more than a name on a roster. He arrived in Chicago on Aug. 30, 1981, when the club acquired him from the Twins for a player to be named later, Bambi Mesa, Ron Perry and cash.
A few days later, Randy Johnson was the player to be named later. Before his White Sox years, the Appleton, Minn., native had already built a decorated résumé with the Mets, where he was a two-time National League champion, a World Series champion, a two-time All-Star and a 20-game winner from 1967 to 1978.
His Chicago run covered three seasons and plenty of mileage. Koosman went 23-18 with five saves and a 4.23 ERA in 87 games, including 46 starts, six complete games and two shutouts. Over 370 innings from 1981 to 1983, he allowed 397 hits, walked 98 and struck out 199.
Koosman’s first White Sox appearance was a rough one. On Sept. 1, 1981, he took the loss against Detroit at Comiskey Park after entering in the ninth inning. He walked Lou Whitaker, then after a bunt and a flyout, gave up the run-scoring single to future teammate Steve Kemp that decided a 2-1 game.
His first win in a Sox uniform came later that month, on Sept. 27, 1981, when he went the distance in a 10-3 victory at Oakland. Koosman gave up 10 hits, one walk and a homer while striking out four. That was the 180th win of his career, and it would be the only Sox victory he appeared in during 1981.
By 1982, Koosman was still taking on major responsibility. He made the fourth and final Opening Day start of his career for the White Sox, working into the sixth inning in a 7-6 win over the Brewers in 12 innings.
The game was the first of a doubleheader after five Opening Day postponements caused by a massive snowstorm. At 39 years and 109 days old, Koosman was the Sox’s sixth-oldest Opening Day starter and the oldest since Early Wynn in 1960.
That season also brought one of the stranger workdays of his career. On July 3, 1982, Koosman threw 7.2 innings in relief and got the win in a 7-6 victory over Seattle at Comiskey Park. It would not happen again for a Sox pitcher until Jonathan Cannon did it in Sacramento on April 25, 2025.
Koosman’s first shutout for Chicago came on Sept. 1, 1982, when he allowed four singles in a 6-0 win over Cleveland before 8,797 at Comiskey Park. He walked two and struck out seven for his seventh win of the year.
A year later, he delivered the final shutout of his career in a 2-0 win over Kansas City on June 3, 1983, giving up two singles to George Brett and one to Don Slaught while improving to 4-0. It was the first shutout by a Sox 40-year-old since Early Wynn blanked the Senators in Washington on July 24, 1962.
He also helped shape some of the biggest moments of the 1983 season. Koosman threw three shutout innings for the save in the White Sox’s first win of that 99-win campaign, a 6-3 victory over Detroit in the Tiger Stadium opener. It was the first of his two saves that year and the 16th of his career.
The milestone that stood out most came on Aug. 19, 1983, when Koosman picked up his 200th victory with five solid innings in the second game of a doubleheader at Texas. He allowed one run on four hits, walked two and struck out two in a 6-1 Sox win. He became the first pitcher to reach 200 wins with the White Sox since Jim Kaat in 1974.
Koosman finished his White Sox regular-season career on a strong note, earning a hold on Oct. 1 and a save on Oct. 2 with a combined 2.1 scoreless innings in the club’s final two regular-season games. His only appearance in the 1983 American League Championship Series came in Game 3 against Baltimore, when the Sox were down 7-1.
Koosman could not get out of the ninth, allowing three runs, two earned, on one hit while retiring one batter before Dennis Lamp entered in what became an 11-1 loss. Chicago was eliminated the next day.
There was also a broader baseball footprint to Koosman’s career. He joined Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones, Tom Seaver, J.C.
Martin and Al Weis as members of the 1969 World Series champion “Miracle Mets” who later played for the White Sox. He is also the all-time strikeout leader among Minnesotans with 2,556, and among White Sox pitchers from Minnesota he leads with 199 strikeouts and 23 wins.
Koosman and Ron Reed remain the only Sox 40-year-olds with saves since 1969, and Koosman was the oldest player on the 1983 club.
His place in White Sox history also briefly connected to the 2005 postseason. When Freddy Garcia went the distance in Game 4 of the ALCS in Anaheim, the Sox had three straight complete games, the first team to do that in the postseason since Koosman, Jon Matlack and Seaver did it for the 1973 Mets. The next night, Jose Contreras threw a complete game in the pennant clincher, erasing that note almost immediately.
Koosman’s death adds another name to the list of members of the 99-win 1983 American League West champions who are gone: Julio Cruz, Marc Hill, Aurelio Rodriguez, Kevin Hickey, Dick Tidrow, LaMarr Hoyt, Dave Nelson, Loren Babe, Ed Brinkman, Charley Lau and Roland Hemond.
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