Urban "Red" Faber and the Chicago White Sox

Urban "Red" Faber, proprietor of the bowling alley and tavern in downtown Grayslake from about 1939 to 1946 would delight his patrons with baseball stories -- real baseball stories -- from his years as a Chicago White Sox pitcher from 1914 through 1933, including those with his teammates from the scandal-ridden 1919 Black Sox era.    

His story of his athletic accomplishments is one of several stories being told in the sports exhibit, "Leave Nothing On The Field" at the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum.    

Faber, a native of Cascade, Iowa, was elected into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. The right-hander was the ace of the White Sox pitching staff for several years. He had seasons of 25, 24, 23 and 21 wins. He ended his career with lifetime records of 254 wins and 213 losses; an Earned Run Average of 3.15 and 1,471 strikeouts in 669 games and 4,087.2 innings pitched. Thirteen of his seasons were with second division White Sox teams.    

After the 1919 season, eight of his teammates, including "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, were suspended from major league baseball for life following the Black Sox scandal admist charges of throwing the 1919 World Series. These charges were never proved in court.   

One sports publication noted that Faber threw a three-hitter on May 12, 1915 against Washington. In two innings he retired the side on three pitches each.    According to The White Sox Encyclopedia, Faber, along with Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes, were the last of legal spitball pitchers after the pitch was outlawed.   

Faber began his professional baseball career when he was drafted in 1909 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He bounced around in the minor leagues until he was signed by the White Sox in 1913 for $3,500.

He retired in 1933 at the age of 45, but not before pitching a 2-0 shutout against the Cubs in the City Series game on Oct. 5, 1933 in Wrigley Field. He returned to professional baseball as a coach for the White Sox from 1946 to 1948.     

Faber operated the bowling alley and tavern in Grayslake on the southwest corner of Center Street and Seymour Avenue. It was destroyed by fire in 1970. Later, he was employed as a surveyor for the Cook County Highway Department. He died in his South Side, Chicago, home on Sept 25, 1976.   

The sports display is open to the public in the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum, 164 Hawley St. from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and during downtown Grayslake community events.

Contributed by the Grayslake Historical Society.