White Sox celebrate ‘Pope Night’ with holy hat giveaway
The team has not shied away from the connection since it was revealed the pope was a White Sox fan following his elevation to the highest seat in the Catholic Church in 2025.
On Tuesday night, the Chicago White Sox celebrated their most devoted fans by distributing pope hats to attendees of their game against the Cincinnati Reds. This unique gesture honored Pope Leo XIV, a fan of the White Sox who was born and raised in Chicago. Pope Leo XIV, whose real name was Robert Francis Prevost, made his allegiance to the team known after becoming pontiff in 2025.
The White Sox capitalized on this connection by creating a promotional hat for fans who purchased a voucher, expecting to sell around 2,500. However, the team was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming response, as over 40,000 fans received a pope hat. In response, the White Sox gave away white Southside jerseys with "CHICAGO’S POPE" and the number 14 on the back to all ticket holders.
White Sox marketing chief Brooks Boyer expressed his excitement about the promotion, noting that it was a rare opportunity to engage with such a significant fan base. Despite the White Sox recently finishing in last place twice, they are currently leading the AL Central and on track to make their first playoff appearance since 2021.
Manager Will Venable expressed his enthusiasm for the "Pope Night" celebration, hoping it would bring the team some good fortune. The promotion appeared to be a success, with Brenton Doyle hitting his first home run for the White Sox early in the night and Edgar Quero and Miguel Vargas contributing additional home runs as the team built a 4-0 lead.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- Reds rally late, beat the White Sox 5-4 in the 10th to spoil pope hat giveaway night winnipegfreepress.com
