In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #73.  A single player has donned #73 for each Chicago team.

Tony Phillips had a turbulent 1996 season with the White Sox, retiring for 48 hours during spring training and getting into a fistfight with a fan at County Stadium in Milwaukee in May.  When Albert Belle signed with the White Sox prior to the 1997 season, Phillips gave up his #8 and switched to #73.  His tenure with the number, however, was short lived.  On April 21, he was ejected 3 pitches into that night’s game against the Yankees.  Phillips had to be restrained by 3 White Sox players and ended up getting suspended for 2 games.  He accused American League president Gene Budig of being a racist, which Jerry Reinsdorf called “out of line,” and, on May 13th, Phillips was traded to the Angels.

On the other side of town, young pitcher Adbert Alzolay has appeared in 10 games for the Cubs over the past 2 seasons.  He has a chance to claim a permanent slot in the rotation in 2021.