White Sox Are Bringing Back the Southside City Connect for Tim Anderson on September 17

City Connect uniform unveil image via the Chicago White Sox and MLB

Tim Anderson announced his retirement on Monday after ten major league seasons, and the White Sox answered with the exact right gesture. They are honoring him before their September 17 home game against the Detroit Tigers, and for that game they are bringing the original charcoal "Southside" City Connect out of storage for the first time all season.

We have been tracking every White Sox uniform this year, and the Southside has not appeared once. Not a single game. That is what makes this worth writing about.

What the White Sox Announced

Anderson, 33, called it a career on August 10. He last played in the majors with the Angels in 2025 and did not appear in 2026 at all. On the decision, he said the game "brought too much pain to me so going back to play is not for me, not where I'm at right now."

The White Sox will recognize him in a pregame ceremony on Thursday, September 17 at Rate Field, and the team will wear the Southside kit that defined his best years in Chicago. The jersey ran from 2021 through 2024, which lines up almost exactly with Anderson's peak.

Why the Southside Is the Right Jersey for This

The résumé is real. Anderson won the American League batting title in 2019 hitting .335, made the All-Star team in both 2021 and 2022, and hit the walk-off home run that ended the 2021 Field of Dreams game in Iowa, which remains one of the most replayed moments in franchise history.

Every one of those All-Star seasons happened while the Southside kit was in rotation. If you picture Anderson at his loudest, bat flip and all, you are probably picturing him in charcoal pinstripes. Pairing the tribute to the jersey rather than just running a video board montage is the kind of detail most clubs skip.

We Were Never Sold on the Jersey Itself

Jersey image via Fanatics

Here is our honest position. The Southside has never been our favorite thing the White Sox own. The Gothic lettering is heavy, the charcoal reads closer to dark gray than black under most lighting, and the whole set always felt like it was reaching for an identity the team already had in its regular blacks. Chicago's black alternate is an A in our rankings and the best jersey in the closet. The Southside was never going to beat it.

But a uniform does not have to be the best one to be the right one. This is not a design decision, it is a memory decision, and on that score the Southside wins in a walk. Anderson wore it through the best baseball of his life. That matters more than whether we liked the font.

It also quietly says something about the newer kit. The red City Connect the team introduced in 2025, the Bulls crossover, is the only jersey we have handed an F all season. Given the choice between the new one and the old one for a night that actually means something, the White Sox reached past the red without hesitating.

The Detail Nobody Else Will Tell You

The Southside was never technically retired. When the red City Connect arrived in 2025, the charcoal set converted into a standard alternate rather than going to the vault, so it has been available all along.

Available and used are different things. By our count in the 2026 MLB uniform tracker, the White Sox have worn four uniforms this season: the home white pinstripes twelve times, the black alternate seven, the road grays five, and the red City Connect three. The Southside is at zero.

That is why we left it out of our White Sox jersey rankings entirely, with a note that we would slot it in if it ever showed up. On September 17, it finally will.

Shop the Southside jersey on Fanatics →

The Bottom Line

We are not going to pretend the Southside City Connect suddenly became a great uniform. It did not. It is still a heavy, slightly muddled kit that we would rank below Chicago's blacks and its pinstripes.

What changed is what it is for. For one night in September it stops being a City Connect and becomes the jersey Tim Anderson won a batting title in, made two All-Star teams in, and walked off the Field of Dreams in. That is a better reason to wear a uniform than anything a design brief ever produced, and the White Sox deserve credit for seeing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When are the White Sox wearing the Southside City Connect in 2026? Thursday, September 17, at home against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field. It is tied to the pregame ceremony honoring Tim Anderson, and it is the only scheduled appearance of the jersey in 2026.

Why are the White Sox honoring Tim Anderson? Anderson announced his retirement on August 10, 2026, after ten major league seasons, seven of them with the White Sox. He won the 2019 American League batting title at .335, was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022, and hit the walk-off home run in the 2021 Field of Dreams game.

What is the White Sox Southside City Connect uniform? It is the team's original City Connect, introduced by Nike in 2021: a charcoal jersey with white pinstripes and Gothic-styled "Southside" lettering across the chest, a nod to the South Side neighborhoods. It was worn from 2021 through 2024.

Was the Southside City Connect retired? No. When the red City Connect launched in 2025, the Southside converted into a standard alternate rather than being retired. It has stayed in the closet as an available option, but the White Sox have not worn it in a game in 2026 before this date.

How many uniforms have the White Sox worn in 2026? Four: the home white pinstripes, the road grays, the black alternate, and the red City Connect. The Southside will be the fifth when it appears on September 17.

Is Tim Anderson going into the White Sox Hall of Fame? The team has announced a pregame ceremony on September 17, not a Hall of Fame induction. Anderson spent seven of his ten seasons in Chicago and is the most decorated White Sox shortstop of his era.

More MLB Coverage

• Every White Sox Jersey in 2026, Ranked — all four graded, worst to first
• White Sox 2026 Uniform Schedule — which jersey comes out on which day
• 2026 MLB Uniform Tracker — what every team wore last night
• White Sox Uniform Calendar — every jersey they have actually worn this season

Retirement and ceremony details via the Chicago White Sox and MLB. Uniform usage counts are our own, from the ColorWay Sports 2026 MLB uniform tracker. Cover and hero image is the City Connect uniform unveil graphic, via the Chicago White Sox and Major League Baseball. Jersey image via Fanatics. ColorWay Sports is an independent design site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Chicago White Sox or Major League Baseball.