Ed Farmer, Longtime White Sox Radio Voice, Dies

CHICAGO — Ed Farmer, the longtime Chicago White Sox radio broadcaster, has died. The team confirmed Thursday morning that Farmer, 70, died Wednesday night at a Los Angeles-area hospital. His death was due to complications from an illness, the team said.

Originally from Evergreen Park, growing up at 79th and Francisco and a proud St. Rita High School alum, Farmer was a true Chicago South Sider. He grew up a fan of the team at 35th and Shields before playing for them and later becoming their radio voice.

Farmer was in the White Sox' broadcast booth for 29 seasons, first calling games for his hometown team in 1991. Last week would have been his 30th Opening Day in the team's broadcast booth.

This after a Major League Baseball career that spanned 11 seasons and eight different uniforms.

Since 2006, he had been the play-by-play voice for White Sox game broadcasts on the radio and before that served as the color commentator while John Rooney had the play-by-play call for several years, including when the team won their only World Series of the last century in 2005.

His voice can be heard here alongside Rooney's in an ESPN montage from that special 2005 season.

Farmer's radio partner since 2009, Darrin Jackson, said he was heartbroken to hear of his friend's passing.

“My heart is broken, but my mind is at peace knowing my dear friend is no longer suffering," Jackson said. "Ed was a competitor who also was everyone’s best friend. I saw first-hand how hard Ed fought each and every day and season after season to keep himself healthy and prepared to broadcast White Sox baseball.”

We mourn the death of Ed Farmer who passed away Wednesday night.

Farmer worked as a radio broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox for nearly 30 years, played 11 seasons in the major leagues, including three with his hometown White Sox, and was a strong advocate for organ donation. pic.twitter.com/wx7itjfEYk
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 2, 2020

White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said Farmer's “wry sense of clubhouse humor, his love of baseball and his passion for the White Sox combined to make White Sox radio broadcasts the sound of summer for millions of fans."

"I am truly devastated by the loss of my friend," Reinsdorf said.

Before his broadcasting career, Farmer was a pitcher in the MLB from 1971 until 1983. That career included three years with the White Sox from 1979-1981. His 1980 win total of 7 was the highest he had achieved in his professional years on the mound. Other stops on his playing career included Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Texas, Milwaukee and Oakland.

According to the White Sox, he was a longtime advocate and supporter of organ and tissue donation after undergoing a kidney transplant in 1991 due to polycystic kidney disease.

He was especially popular among fans of the South Side team, whether he interacted with them at the home ballpark or while the team was on the road. Two memories in particular come to mind.

[PERSONAL REMEMBRANCE]

Although both Farmer and I grew up in neighboring south suburbs and both attended nearby Catholic high schools, my two interactions with him came miles away, and years apart.

During a family vacation in Toronto in 1996, the entire White Sox team stayed at the same hotel as us while they were in town to play the Blue Jays and I walked past Farmer in the main lobby.

My dad recognized him, and as an 11-year-old I was already collecting autographs from players, coaches and broadcasters all day. My dad told me to mention 'St. Rita' to him if I talked to him and I did. Farmer smiled and happily signed by White Sox cap.

Fourteen years later, in 2010, I ended up in the same elevator as Farmer (and Darrin Jackson) while touring downtown Minneapolis and heading to the top floor of the Foshay Tower, which is among the Minnesota city's tallest buildings.

He was happy to talk with me about that night's White Sox-Twins pitching match-up and I mentioned how the two of us met years back in Toronto "when I was a kid."

His response to me, now 25, before getting off the elevator and off to his room that night:

"You're still a kid."