Today in White Sox History: October 18

A South Side — and eventual worldwide — theme song hit the charts

1969

A little-known studio musical group had released an oddly-named song. On this date, it broke into the Billboard Top 100 chart, and would eventually move all the way to No. 1.

The group was called Steam, and the song, “Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye).” Thanks to the efforts of White Sox organist Nancy Faust, it would become the song Sox fans used to “serenade” pitchers being removed from games.

Faust had played the song many times at Comiskey Park before it caught on as a phenomenon, but it was during a battle for first place with the Kansas City Royals at the end of July 1977 that fans started singing along to Nancy’s playing — and never stopped. The song has crossed over to every sport, The Simpsons, Congress ... in short, it made Faust a cultural icon.

The song became so enormously popular at Comiskey Park in 1977 that the Steam single was reissued, with the additional notation “(White Sox Theme Song)” — and Faust was awarded a commemorative gold record for reviving interest in the track.

In April 2021, ESPN had a special short documentary on the history of the song, and how through the efforts of Faust it became the fan base’s anthem before spreading to other teams, leagues and sports.