White Sox fans haven’t had much fun this year.

But the Arlington Heights Memorial Library is offering something to distract viewers from what could be a historically bad season. The library is hosting a panel discussion about the documentary “Last Comiskey” on Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Hendrickson Room.

The creator of the documentary, Matt Flesch of Arlington Heights, will appear, as will the author of the book based on the film “Last Comiskey,” Ken Smoller, a graduate of Buffalo Grove High School.

In addition, the library is expecting one of the key figures of the memorable last season, former Sox pitcher Donn Pall.

Flesch said audiences will see an abridged version of the documentary; the full version has already been viewed around 200,000 times on YouTube.

Ken Smoller adapted his book from the documentary “Last Comicskey”.
Courtesy of Ken Smoller

Flesch grew up in Elmhurst. He transferred from York Community High School to Immaculate Conception High School to play baseball, eventually landing in the starting lineup as a shortstop.

“My senior year, the York team won the state championship and I knew I wasn’t going to play,” he said. “My decisions were always driven by baseball.”

Flesch, who attended his first game in Comiskey in the early 1980s, grew up in a mixed family.

“I have three brothers, two of them are Cubs fans, and my other brother and I are Sox fans. It was just perfect for great Wiffle ball games or crazy fast pitches. It was Cubs versus Sox,” said Flesch, who works in communications for a biotechnology company.

Smoller will return to the library, which played a big role in his youth, on Thursday.

“This is really exciting for me because I spent many hours in this library as a child. As a latchkey kid, I always did my homework there,” he said.

Ken Smoller, Buffalo Grove High School graduate and author of “Last Comiskey,” poses with White Sox legend Ozzie Guillen, a member of the last Sox team to play at the old Comiskey Park.
Courtesy of Ken Smoller

The documentary focuses on the final year at Comiskey Park in 1990, when the stars aligned and a team that had a dismal record and low attendance in 1989 experienced a renaissance in front of a sold-out crowd.

Flesch said the documentary was started as a side project related to COVID-19.

“I had a lot of time and always wanted to do something creative,” he said.

The documentary consists of home video footage, including footage from the last game of legendary Sox organist Nancy Faust, who also recorded organ music for the documentary. He said that among the people who contributed video footage was the legendary “Usher John,” who shot videos around the park.

Flesch used the Arlington Heights library to digitize hours of VHS tapes.

“Matt has been making requests for films, videos and photos. I reached out to him on Twitter and told him I have hundreds and hundreds of photos of Comiskey Park, especially from last season when I wanted to photograph every corner of the stadium,” Smoller said.

Smoller’s photos were used for the background and transition.

A highlight was interviewing players from that magical season, including Ozzie Guillen, Greg Hibbard and Bobby Thigpen, Flesch said. Most of the interviews were conducted via Zoom.

“I think you can see how passionate they are about this team and this time in the stadium,” Flesch said.

Flesch is working on a similar project about the old Chicago Stadium and is aiming for a 2025 release.

The focus is on 1992, the year the Bulls won the championship and the Blackhawks reached the Stanley Cup finals, and features interviews with legends Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour and Denis Savard.

The projects and the film’s promotion helped the filmmakers distract their minds from the White Sox’s current dismal season.

Smoller said he hoped, in a strange sense, that the Sox would make history by surpassing the inefficiency of the 1962 New York Mets, who won only 40 games.

“There’s so much self-hating gallows humor among Sox fans that I would actually welcome it,” he said.

Smoller said he believes a new baseball stadium in the South Loop “is very worthwhile because it’s an underused part of the city. There are real real estate developers behind it.”

Smoller, a real estate attorney who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, has seen successful mixed-use projects with housing, hotels, shopping and a stadium.

Flesch doesn’t believe the team would leave Chicago.

“This is one of the original ball clubs in Major League Baseball. I can’t imagine they would do something like that,” he said.

What would Flesch, who lives near Arlington Park, think of a White Sox stadium on the former racetrack?

“I think the stadium should be in Chicago,” Flesch said. “As much as I would love to have the White Sox just down the street, I think the White Sox belong at 35th and Shields on the South Side. I value tradition and all the history that surrounds these places.”