At the dawn of the 20th Century, Charlie Comiskey found himself with an ownership interest in a minor league ball club out of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Wanting to push things a bit, Comiskey decided to move into the Chicago Market. For the 1900 season, the team operated out of the South Side of Chicago as a minor league, which meant that it was secondary to the National League outfit in the city(which at this point was known as the Chicago Orphans, entering their 24th year of existence.) After one year of this arrangement, the Western League reorganized into the American League, declared themselves to be in competition with the NL, and started raiding player contracts for their own use.
The AL's first season in 1901 saw the White Stockings(having taken the original name of the Orphans/Cubs) cruise to the league pennant. The first true superstar to emerge in the team's early years was pitcher Ed Walsh, who would routinely pitch over 400 innings in any given season(the official baseball term used for that feat today is "Holy Sh*t!"). It was behind Walsh that the Sox won their first World Series in 1906, despite being loaded with young players, despite being known as the "Hitless Wonders", AND despite being up against a Chicago Cubs team that had just reeled off a 116-win regular season(a feat that has only been repeated once in the 106 seasons since).
In 1915, the franchise took another step forward with the addition of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson. This in turn helped them to win the Series yet again in 1917. Jackson would prove integral to the next chapter of Sox history as well. In 1919, the White Sox yet again made it to the World Series, this time earning the right to play a best of 9 series against the Cincinnati Reds. The White Sox had stormed through the regular season, so it must have seemed quite peculiar when they were defeated by the Reds in 8 games. Over the course of the 1920 season, rumors started swirling about a possible rigging of the 1919 Series. The scandal finally blew up in September of 1920, completely killing any chances the 1920 squad had of contending, and also leading to the suspension and banning(for life) of 8 players, including Jackson. This heavily deflated the Sox, and they would not contend again until 1935.
Even then, the team was not regularly competitive again until the 1950s, at which point they became involved in annual pennant races. The dominance of the New York Yankees usually stymied the Sox, with the lone exception coming in 1959. That year, the Sox cruised through the AL and won the Pennant. Ever the White Sox fan(and minor boor[plus potential race rioter to boot]), Mayor Richard J. Daley ordered the city's air raid sirens to be set off in celebration. Given that this went down in the midst of the Cold War, I'm sure that not a soul mistook this for an actual Soviet attack. Falsely inciting panic aside, the White Sox fell to the Dodgers in the World Series. The next decade saw the team continually frustrated by the Yankees and other AL powers, and they failed to make the postseason.
The Sixties marked the acquisition of the team by the bombastic Bill Veeck, whose mind was as wide open as the great outdoors. Additionally, the Sixties saw the construction of the Dan Ryan Branch of the CTA, which included a station right by the ballpark. The Sox were under the relocation gun twice, first in 1968 when they were almost moved to Milwaukee, and then in 1975 when they were almost in on a three team deal that would have seen them move to Seattle, with the Athletics coming to town to replace them in Chicago. In 1983, the team had their best season since 1959, winning 99 games. Ultimately though, they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual World Champion Baltimore Orioles. 1990 was a significant year for the team, as they bid farewell to the original Comiskey Park, which had been their home field since 1910.
The next year, they opened up a brand-new ballpark that soon became dated thanks to the retro ballpark craze that hit the very next year. On the field, the 2000 team won 95 games and easily had the best season since 1983. Alas, the team met a familiar fate and lost in the first round of the playoffs yet again. 5 years later, things would turn out differently. The 2005 White Sox ran roughshod over the competition to win 99 games and qualify for the playoffs. After dispatching the reigning champion Red Sox in the ALDS, they faced the Angels, who they beat 4-1. The Sox were in the World Series for the first time since 1959. (and no sirens this time) They defeated the Houston Astros 4 games to none, and celebrated their first Series win since 1917(with a little help from Journey).
Since 2005, the White Sox have made the playoffs one time(another first-round exit in 2008), and have had two pitchers throw a perfect game(Mark Buehrle in 2009 and Phillip Humber in 2012.) The White Sox have been the South Side's ball club for well over 100 years, and they promise to be around for many more years to come.
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