RELEASE: Baseball legend Jim Thome to drop ceremonial puck on Monday

The Chicago Blackhawks will honor White Sox legend Jim Thome, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2018, prior to the game on Monday, March 18 as the team takes on the Vancouver Canucks at 7:30 p.m. at the United Center.
As the city of Chicago looks forward to Opening Day of the upcoming baseball season, baseball and hockey fans alike are invited to attend a special pregame celebration in the United Center Atrium.

A nod to Thome's 612 career home runs, the first 612 fans to enter the Atrium for the event will receive a commemorative t-shirt. Atrium doors will open at 5 p.m. for the event, with live music, photo opportunities and baseball activities with the White Sox Street Team to entertain fans until puck drop. The Atrium will also have special ballpark-themed concessions available.

Gene Honda, who serves as public address announcer for both the Blackhawks and White Sox, will host a live Q&A with Thome on the Atrium's stage at approximately 6:30 p.m. In-arena elements will also celebrate Thome's career, including a ceremonial puck drop to begin the game.
Thome, a native of Peoria, Illinois, played 22 major-league seasons with Cleveland (1991-2002, 2011), Philadelphia (2003-05, 2012), the White Sox (2006-09), Los Angeles-NL (2009), Minnesota (2010-11) and Baltimore (2012), hitting .276 (2,328-8,422) with 451 doubles, 26 triples, 612 home runs, 1,699 RBI, 1,583 runs scored, 1,747 walks, a .402 on-base percentage and .554 slugging percentage in 2,543 career games. Thome's 612 homers are the fourth-highest total in major-league history by a left-handed hitter, trailing only Barry Bonds (762), Babe Ruth (714) and Ken Griffey Jr. (630).
Fans interested in attending the special event and game on March 18 can purchase tickets on blackhawks.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.