White Sox fans haven’t had much fun this year.
But the Arlington Heights Memorial Library is offering something to take their minds off what could be a historically bad season. The library will host a panel discussion about the documentary “Last Comiskey” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the Hendrickson Room.
Arlington Heights resident Matt Flesch will talk about his documentary “Last Comiskey” Thursday at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library accompanied by Buffalo Grove High School graduate Ken Smoller, a contributor to the documentary and author of the companion book, and former White Sox pitcher Donn Pall.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
The documentary’s creator, Arlington Heights resident Matt Flesch, will appear, as will the author of the book adapted from the film, “Last Comiskey,” Buffalo Grove High School graduate Ken Smoller.
In addition, the library expects one of the key figures of that memorable last season, former Sox pitcher Donn Pall.
Flesch said the audience will view a condensed version of the documentary, the full version of which has garnered about 200,000 views on YouTube.
Ken Smoller adapted his book from the documentary “Last Comiskey.”
Courtesy of Ken Smoller
Flesch grew up in Elmhurst. He transferred from York Community High School to Immaculate Conception High School so he could play baseball and wound up as the starting shortstop.
“The York team went on to win the state championship my senior year, and I knew I wasn’t going to play,” he said. “It’s always been about baseball guiding my decisions.”
Flesch, who attended his first game at Comiskey in the early 1980s, grew up in a mixed family.
“I have three brothers, and two of them are Cubs fans, and then me and my other brother are Sox fans. It just kind of made for great Wiffle ball games or off-the-wall fast pitch. It would be Cubs versus Sox,” said Flesch, who works in communications for a biotechnology firm.
Smoller will return Thursday to the library that played a big part in his youth.
“It’s really exciting for me, because I spent hours upon hours at that library as a kid. I used to do my homework there all the time as a latchkey kid,” he said.
Buffalo Grove High School graduate and “Last Comiskey” author Ken Smoller poses with White Sox legend Ozzie Guillen, a member of the last Sox team to play in old Comiskey Park.
Courtesy of Ken Smoller
The documentary focuses on the last year of Comiskey Park in 1990, when the stars aligned and a team that had a dismal 1989 finish and low attendance enjoyed a renaissance before packed houses.
Flesch said the documentary began as a COVID-19 side project.
“I had time on my hands and I always wanted to do something creative,” he said.
The documentary consists of home video footage, including material from the last game from legendary Sox organist Nancy Faust, who also recorded organ music for the documentary. He said people who contributed video included the legendary “Usher John,” who shot videos around the park.
Flesch used the Arlington Heights library to digitize hours of VHS tapes.
“Matt was putting out requests for film and videos and photos. I reached out to him on Twitter and told him that I had hundreds and hundreds of photos of Comiskey Park, in particular from that last season, when I chose to photograph every nook and cranny of the ballpark,” Smoller said.
Smoller’s photos were used for background and transition.
Interviewing players from that magical season, including Ozzie Guillen, Greg Hibbard and Bobby Thigpen, was a highlight, Flesch said. Most of the interviews were done via Zoom.
“I think you can see how passionate they are about that team and that time at the ballpark,” Flesch said.
Flesch is working on a similar project about the old Chicago Stadium and aiming for a 2025 release.
It will focus on 1992, the year the Bulls won a championship and the Blackhawks reached the Stanley Cup Final, featuring interviews with legends Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour and Denis Savard.
The projects and film promotion helped take filmmakers’ minds off the current dismal White Sox season.
Smoller said in an odd sense he is hoping the Sox achieve history by surpassing the futility of the 1962 New York Mets, who only won 40 games.
“There is so much self-hating gallows humor among Sox fans that I would kind of welcome that,” he said.
Smoller said he thinks a new ballpark in the South Loop “has a lot of merit to it, because it’s an underutilized portion of the city. It has real real estate developers behind it.”
A real estate attorney who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, Smoller has seen successful mixed use projects with residential, hotels, shopping and a stadium.
Flesch doesn’t think the team would leave Chicago.
“This is one of the original ballclubs in major league baseball. I can’t imagine that they would do that,” he said.
How would Flesch, who lives near Arlington Park, feel about a White Sox stadium at the former racetrack?
“I think that the stadium should be in Chicago,” Flesch said. “As much as I would love to have the White Sox right down the street, I kind of feel like the White Sox belong at 35th and Shields on the South Side. I’m big into tradition and all the history that’s on those grounds.”