White Sox Play Starring Role In Fan's 100th Birthday Celebration

CHICAGO — Jo Ann Smith can’t remember a time when her mother wasn’t cheering for the Chicago White Sox.

Whether celebrating the 2005 World Series championship, taking in twi-night doubleheaders at Comiskey Park or, more recently, turning the miniature stuffed Sox player in the bedroom of her Lisle apartment toward the wall when the Sox don’t manage to win two of three games in a series, Jeanne Johnson has stuck with her beloved Sox through thick and thin.

So when Johnson celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday surrounded by nearly 90 family members and friends at Ditka’s in Oak Brook, it only made sense that the Sox were front and center of the festivities.

Sox mascot Southpaw made a surprise appearance and led the assembled partygoers in a rousing rendition of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." Former manager Ozzie Guillen and outfielder Scott Podsednik both delivered cameo video birthday greetings. The Sox also managed to surprise the newly minted centenarian with a personalized jersey bearing the No. 100 and presented Johnson with framed scorecard from the final game at Comiskey Park.

On that day in 1990, Johnson's husband rented a bus, and the entire family made their way to 35th and Shields for the final game at the old ballpark. Johnson and her husband were also in attendance for the first game at what is now known as Guaranteed Rate Field, continuing a long tradition of taking in Sox games, including Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.

So with her mom celebrating such a big milestone on Sunday, Smith said she and the rest of her family knew that the team that has provided Johnson with so many happy for so many years had to be part of the party.

“We’re all big White Sox fans, but I’ve never known someone who is as big of a fan as she is,” Smith told Patch last week of her mother's love for the South Siders.

“She’s very serious about this.”

Johnson is the mother of four and is the grandmother to eight, the great-grandmother of eight boys (with a girl on the way) and has one great-great-grandson. Johnson and her husband raised their kids near 75th and Stony Island, smack dab in the middle of Sox country, where her neighbors and friends all held the same baseball loyalties — as well as a fair share of disdain for Chicago’s other baseball franchise.

Johnson's fandom was handed down from her father. In turn, she has passed it down to her kids and grandkids ever since. Smith says that her mom has always had a competitive streak, and so the ongoing feud between the Sox and their North Side neighbors has only intensified her love of her team.

As a child, Smith remembers parading around the house with her siblings, banging on pots and pans to celebrate Sox victories. But Smith said no bigger thrill arrived than in 2005, when Johnson saw all of her years of loyalty to the Sox pay off with the World Series sweep.

Sunday’s birthday celebration also included well-wishes from Pope Francis and President Joe Biden, both of whom Johnson’s family members reached out to through correspondence with the Vatican and White House along with from U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.

But for all of the big names that contributed to Sunday’s celebration, Smith said last week that the Sox connection would undoubtedly be her mom’s favorite part of the festivities. The fact Johnson’s favorite player — Podsednik —participated in the party and signed a baseball for the lifelong Sox fan was expected to be perhaps the biggest hit of all, Smith said.

For Podsednik, who hit a game-winning walk-off home run in a 7-6 Game 2 win over the Astros en route to the series sweep, the fact Johnson’s family reached out to include him was also meaningful.

“I really appreciate and respect Jeanne’s passion and spirit towards the White Sox," Podsednik said through a Sox spokesperson. "I was humbled that the Johnson family reached out about a Cameo for Jeanne. I hope she enjoyed it. I had fun creating it.

He added: "Jeanne, (I) hope you have a grand 100th. Keep on keep’n on… Cheers!”

While Podsednik’s presence may have added to the day, Smith was confident last week that the entire party would remain a day to remember.

“I think this will thrill her to pieces,” Smith told Patch last week. “She’s such a big fan, she knows all of the players, she watches every game during the season, and so this will be a very, very special moment for her.”

The fact Johnson remains mentally sharp and maintains such an active lifestyle as she turns 100 on Monday makes the celebration even more significant, Smith said. For her family members, the fact Johnson can continue the same things she has throughout her life makes turning 100 even significant than the milestone itself.

Smith says her mom continues to play pinocle with her friends three times a week, attends Mass every day, and remains very healthy despite needing the help of a walker to get around her apartment at Villa St. Benedict in Lisle. She keeps up with her family members on Facebook and holds daily FaceTime sessions with her kids to let them know that she’s alive and well.

And as long as she is, the Sox will remain a big part of who she is.

“She’s a remarkable woman,” Smith said of her mom. “She’s going strong. … it’s kind of amazing to see how capable she is.

“The joy comes in her being able to enjoy — at 100 — the things she has enjoyed all of her life. So many older people lose that ability to be aware of what’s happening, and so it will be a joy.”