1917 Chicago White Sox

 The championship drought that the White Sox suffered between 1917 and 2005 was often overshadowed by the more notable failures of the Red Sox and Cubs for the better part of the century the teams all toiled. The Cubs began theirs before the White Sox and ended well after, while the Red Sox had a more notable origin that the press loved to run with. There was no Ruth or billy goat to laugh about, the White Sox had only their scandal from 1919 to look upon, making it less fun and easier to ignore.

The 1917 season went easy enough for the ChiSox, with Pants Rowland managing the team to a 100-54 record, best in franchise history and 9 games beyond the 2nd place Red Sox, claiming the pennant. Facing off against them in the World Series were the New York Giants. The teams split the first 4 games of the series, the home team winning each game, until it looked like the Giants were going to flip the script in Game 5, loading the bases in the top of the 1st inning and taking a 4-1 lead into the late innings. The White Sox scored 3 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to steal Game 5 and the series lead as things headed back to Gotham for Game 6.

Red Faber would get the ball for Game 6, his 3rd appearance in 5 days, and having him pitch in Games 2, 4, 5 and now 6. Poor defense from the Giants allowed the White Sox to take a 3-0 lead and Faber made sure it held up as they too the game 4-2, winning the series. Despite being champions, the White Sox players did not feel like their pay going forward was substantial enough, opening the door for some of them to be enticed by gamblers in a couple short years...

Commissioner Rob Manfred has recently unbanned Jackson (and the other 7 banned White Sox) and he now qualifies for Hall of Fame consideration, allowing voters for the first time to look into and appreciate his abilities. His card here, in his lone championship run, showcases that on-base prowess, backing the claim that he was among the best hitters of his era. His 17 Triples led the team.

Schalk's HoF consideration may or may not have been hurt by his association with the White Sox of the future scandal, but he was clean, which eventually got him his Veterans Committee vote.

Eddie Collins would win six World Series titles with three different teams in his Hall of Fame career, with '17 checking off the box for Chicago. His 53 Stolen Bases easily led the team and he co-led with Jackson with 91 Runs.

The rest of the lineup. Felsch his .308, with 6 Home Runs and 99 RBI, leading the team in all of that. 

Not exactly all stars coming off the bench. Murphy may be an exception.

Cicotte was the regular season ace, pacing the American League with 28 Wins, 1.53 ERA and a whopping 346.2 Innings Pitched. His 150 Strikeouts also led the entire team. For good measure, he got the Win in Game 1 of the World Series.

Some of the other Starters from the squad. Not quite like the ace-duo ahead of them in the rotation, but they held their own for the most part.

Danforth pitched in a league leading 50 games in 1917, racking up an MLB best 9 "Saves" if the stat was tracked back them.

You'd be hard pressed to find a Starter like Red Faber in any World Series games today. Even with off days in between each game, he pitched in Game 4, 5 and 6 to lead the White Sox to the title. In addition to his Game 2 effort, he got 3 of the 4 Wins for Chicago, including the clinching Game 6.
It was also his inability to pitch in the 1919 World Series that allowed the Black Sox scandal to proceed because he was *that* reliable to win in October.