White Sox All-Star, broadcaster 'Beltin' Bill' Melton, 79, dies

Chicago White Sox All-Star third baseman and broadcaster Bill Melton died Thursday in Phoenix after a brief illness. He was 79.

"Beltin' Bill" hit 33 homers in both 1970 and 1971, when he led the American League and made his lone All-Star team. No White Sox player had hit 30 in a season or led the league prior to that.

His 154 homers with the White Sox from 1968 to 1975 were a club record until Hall of Famer Harold Baines broke it in 1987.

After one season each with the Angels and Cleveland, Melton retired with a .253 batting average, 160 home runs and 591 RBIs in 1,144 games.

Melton became a White Sox television analyst with WGN in 1998. He joined Comcast SportsNet Chicago in 2005 in a similar role and continued broadcasting until his retirement in 2020.

"Bill Melton enjoyed two tremendous careers with the White Sox," team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. "His first came as a celebrated home run king for White Sox teams in the early 1970s, where 'Beltin Bill' brought power to a franchise that played its home games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark.

"Bill's second career came as a well-liked and respected pre- and postgame television analyst, where on a nightly basis Sox fans saw his passion for the team, win or lose. Bill was a friend to many at the White Sox and around baseball, and his booming voice will be missed."

Melton worked with the White Sox as a team ambassador and part-time scout during the early 1990s, including a stint as a hitting instructor for NBA legend Michael Jordan in 1993.

Field Level Media and The Associated Press contributed to this report.