The 1915 Chicago White Sox season was the 15th season of the franchise in Major League Baseball's American League. The team finished in second place in the eight‑team league with a record of 81 wins and 70 losses (.536 winning percentage), trailing the Boston Red Sox, who captured the pennant with a 101–50 record.
Team leadership and venue
- Owner: Charles Comiskey
- Manager: Charles “Pants” Rowland (his first season as manager)
- Home ballpark: Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois
Season performance
- American League standing: 2nd (13½ games behind the champion Boston Red Sox)
- Runs scored: 770 (third highest in the league)
- Runs allowed: 720 (sixth in the league)
Key players
- Eddie Collins – second baseman; appeared in 146 games, batted .332, stole 65 bases, and drove in 85 runs.
- Shoeless (Joe) Jackson – rookie outfielder; made his major‑league debut on July 23, 1915, and posted a .337 batting average in 71 games.
- Happy Felsch – outfielder; batted .275 with 66 runs scored.
- Red Faber – pitcher; recorded a 16–13 win–loss record with a 2.71 earned run average (ERA) over 285 innings.
- Walter "Lefty" Williams – pitcher; posted a 12–6 record with a 2.93 ERA.
Notable events
- The season marked the debut of future Hall of Famer Shoeless Joe Jackson, who would become a cornerstone of the White Sox lineup.
- Manager Pants Rowland took over from John McCloskey early in the year, guiding the club to a winning record after a sub‑.500 finish in 1914.
- The team’s offensive production improved markedly, moving from seventh place in runs scored in 1914 to third in 1915.
Post‑season
The White Sox did not qualify for the World Series; at the time, only the American League champion (Boston Red Sox) and the National League champion (Philadelphia Phillies) contested the Series.
Historical context
The 1915 campaign is viewed as a transitional season that set the stage for the White Sox’s 1917 American League pennant and subsequent 1919 World Series, which later became infamous for the “Black Sox” scandal. The team's strong performance in 1915 reflected the emergence of a core group of players who would dominate the league in the ensuing years.
