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 #33. 60 different players have donned #33 while playing in Chicago, 22 for the White Sox and 48 for the Cubs, including a World Series champion.
Aaron Rowand joined the White Sox organization in 1998, selected in the first round of the draft. He earned his first call up to the show on June 15, 2001 and made his major league debut the following day. He took over as the starting center fielder in 2002 following the mid-season trade of Kenny Lofton. Rowand switched to #33 in 2003, but earned a return trip to Triple A in 2003 after hitting .133 in his first 60 games. After a little more than a month, he returned to the big leagues, hitting .387 the rest of the way and ending the season with a .287 average.
2004 was a breakout year for Rowand, becoming a full time starter for the first time and setting career highs with a .310 average and .905 OPS. The good times continued in 2005, as he hit .270 with 13 home runs and, defensively, committed only 3 errors in 394 chances. Rowand went 4 for 10 against the Red Sox in the ALDS, driving in 2 runs and scoring 3 more in the 3 game sweep. In the ALCS against the Angels, Rowand managed only 3 hits in the 5 game series, all doubles. He bounced back in the World Series, going 5-17 against the Astros as the White Sox won their first title in 88 years. Less than a month after the final out of the World Series, Rowand, among others, was traded to the Phillies for Jim Thome.
On the north side of town, a rookie donned #33 when he made his major league debut on July 30th, 1983. Joe Carter would appear in 23 games for the Cubs that season, hitting .176 without a home run. He made his biggest mark for the Cubs the following June, when he was packaged, along with Mel Hall, Don Schulze, and Darryl Banks, in a trade with the Indians which netted Ron Hassey, George Frazier and, of course, Rick Sutcliffe.