White Sox: The Mount Rushmore of Sox first basemen

Mount Rushmore of White Sox first basemen: Zeke Bonura

It took a bit longer for Zeke Bonura to climb out of the minor leagues, but he made sure he made an impact once he got to the bigs.

Bonura graduated from high school in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in 1927 having set an American record in the javelin two years earlier at the National AAU championships, according to the Society for American Baseball Research, and studied business for two years at Loyola University of New Orleans before signing with the local professional baseball team in 1929.

Bonura played two years for the New Orleans Pelicans before his rights were acquired by the Cleveland Indians in November 1930. He remained on the farm for another three seasons, playing in New Orleans, Indianapolis and Dallas before the White Sox purchased his contract in August 1933.

He made his debut for Chicago at first base on Opening Day in 1934, powering a career-high 27 homers while hitting .302 with a .925 OPS in 127 games and 576 plate appearances. He added 35 doubles and 110 RBI.

In 1936, Bonura drove in a career-best 138 runs and scored a career-high 120 in 148 games, hitting 39 doubles, seven triples and 12 homers while batting .330 with a .908 OPS.

The following season, his .345 average and .984 OPS were career-highs and he drove in 100 runs despite being limited to 116 games due to a groin injury incurred while stealing home — one of just 19 stolen bases in his career.

During spring training in 1938, the White Sox traded Bonura to the Washington Senators for Joe Kuhel in a straight-up swap of first basemen. Bonura later played for the New York Giants, did a second tour with the Senators and spent part of the 1940 season with the Chicago Cubs before fading back to the minors at age 31.

He played a season in the minors in 1941 before serving four years in the Army during World War II. Upon his return, he was a player and manager for several minor league clubs until 1954.

A life-long bachelor, Bonura later got into the New Orleans real estate market and died in March 1987 at the age of 78.

In his four years for the White Sox, Bonura hit .317 with a .914 OPS in 529 games and 2,378 plate appearances, notching 79 homers and 440 RBI.

Mount Rushmore of White Sox first basemen: Paul Konerko

There were other Chicago White Sox first basemen with flashier numbers. But there’s never been another Chicago White Sox first baseman who was so good for so long as Paul Konerko.

Konerko spent 16 years in the black-and-white pinstripes after being acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in November 1998 for outfielder Mike Cameron. Three times, Konerko hit free agency and three times — in November 2005, December 2010 and December 2013 — he opted to stay right where he was.

He was a six-time All-Star, making three of those appearances in his age-34 through age-36 seasons. He only placed in the top five of the MVP voting once, finishing fifth in 2010. The only category he ever led the American League in was when he grounded into 28 double plays in 2003.

But if you wanted steady performance? Paul Konerko was the guy. He hit at least 20 homers in 13 of 14 seasons from 1999-2012. He had six 100-plus RBI seasons and 12 years in which he posted an OPS of .800 or better, including four where he was over .900.

His career-high of 41 homers came in 2004 and his only other 40-homer season came during the World Series championship season of 2005. Konerko finished his White Sox career with 432 home runs and 1,383 RBI, second in franchise history in both categories. Konerko is the franchise’s all-time leader with 4,010 total bases.

He retired Sept. 28, 2014, and has settled in Arizona, where he coaches his son’s youth baseball team along with former White Sox reliever J.J. Putz, who also has a son on the team.

Mount Rushmore of White Sox first basemen: Frank Thomas

Frank Thomas had a tough act to follow when he graduated from Columbus (Georgia) High School in 1986 and committed to play both football and baseball at Auburn University. After all, he was following a fairly well-known two-sport star for the Tigers in Bo Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner and future MLB All-Star.

But Thomas turned out OK. Taken by the Chicago White Sox seventh overall in 1989, he debuted for the Sox in August 1990 and never looked back. Over the final two months of the season, he hit .330 with a .983 OPS. It was just a preview of what was coming.

A selective hitter with massive power, Thomas led the American League with 138 walks, a .453 on-base percentage and a 1.006 OPS in his first full season in 1991, finishing third in the MVP voting. The following year, he was the AL leader in doubles (46), walks (122), OBP (.439) and OPS (.975).

The explosion came in 1993, when he belted a then-career-best 41 homers with 128 RBI while leading the White Sox to the AL West title, earning MVP honors in the process. In 1994, he had Chicago in position to make another playoff run before the strike wiped out the end of the season.

He drew 109 walks in 113 games, led the AL in OBP, slugging and OPS and became the first two-time MVP winner in franchise history. Thomas won a batting title in 1997, hitting .347, while finishing third in the MVP race and he had a runner-up finish in the MVP balloting in 2000, when he posted career-highs with 43 homers and 143 RBI while leading the Sox to a division crown.

But he missed almost all of the 2001 season with a torn muscle in his right arm and a broken foot derailed both his 2004 and 2005 seasons. Thomas was not on the postseason roster when the White Sox won the 2005 World Series.

He became a free agent after the season and played three more years with the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and Athletics again before retiring after the 2008 season.

With Chicago, he holds the franchise’s all-time record in nearly every offensive category, including 448 home runs and 1,465 RBI. In 16 years with the White Sox, split almost evenly between first base (971 games) and designated hitter (959 games), he hit .307 with a .995 OPS.

Thomas was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2014.