An Interview with White Sox Owner, Eddie Einhorn

Hey baseball fans!

I recently had the honor of interviewing the Vice Chairman and an owner of the Chicago White Sox, Eddie Einhorn! Einhorn was a really cool guy to talk to and his answers were also very interesting to hear. However, let me tell you a little about Mr. Einhorn before I get to the interview.

Eddie Einhorn was one of the first people to broadcast College Basketball and produced many NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball games during the late 1950s and 1960s. The University of Pennsylvania graduate even helped put together the national broadcast for the Game of the Century, a historic 1968 game between the Houston Cougars and UCLA Bruins (see pic below). Besides his work with college sports, Eddie, who was a vendor at Comiskey Park from 1959-1960, was a former owner of the IWA, the International Wrestling Association. He finally bought the White Sox with his law school classmate Jerry Reinsdorf in 1981 and has been one of the owners of the South Siders ever since. He will also be celebrating his 24th year as Vice Chairman of the White Sox this year. Besides being elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Einhorn even won an Emmy in 1980 when he was a producer for CBS. I am almost certain that he is the only vendor in Comiskey Park history to be elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame, win an Emmy, and be an owner of a baseball team.

Now that you know some information on Eddie Einhorn, let’s get to the interview.

Matt:  Which baseball team did you root for as a kid given that you grew up in NJ?
Mr. Einhorn: I rooted for the Reds because they were the first team I saw in 1946. Also my dad was friends with  Johnny Vander Meer .

Matt:  What inspired you to become an owner of the White Sox?
Mr. Einhorn: I’ve been in the business for a long time. I sold my TV company and I was looking for something to do and one of my friends asked me if I was interested in buying the White Sox. I said yes.

Matt:  Who are your favorite non-White Sox players in baseball history?
Mr. Einhorn:  I don’t know if I have a favorite. I just like all players who are winners, like  Johnny Bench  and  Jack Morris

Matt:  If you could change any MLB rule today, what would it be and why?
Mr. Einhorn:  I would like to see shorter-term contracts. I think it’s getting out of hand. Sometimes we are awarding people more money than they deserve. I also don’t like all the instant replay.

Matt: If you could add any White Sox Hall of Famer onto today’s team, who would it be and why?
Mr. Einhorn: Luis Aparicio . The shortstop position is so important to a baseball team and he was so good at the position.

Matt:  What did you do after the White Sox broke their curse and won the 2005 World Series?
Mr. Einhorn: I celebrated with everyone! But I learned that you can’t celebrate for too long because the next season is right around the corner.

Matt:  Besides the 2005 Series win, what’s the most exciting MLB moment you’ve witnessed live?
Mr. Einhorn: I don’t know. I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of games, but I’ve never seen a perfect game or a no-hitter. I’ve also seen a lot of exciting games and I was there for some incredible wins and incredible losses.

Matt:  If you could only eat one ballpark food every time you went to any baseball stadium, what would that food be and why?
Mr. Einhorn: When I’m nervous at games, I get any food that’s in my view. But I think the answer to that question would be a roast beef sandwich with horse radish.

Thanks to Mr. Eddie Einhorn for answering my questions. And a shout-out to Jason Duffy for the introduction. Mr. Einhorn was a really fun guy to interview and I was so honored to do so. Anyway, thanks for reading this interview. I hope you enjoyed it and check back in a few days for more of “all the buzz on what wuzz.”