This victory belonged to the entire city of Chicago and a nation of euphoric White Sox fans.

Sure, the White Sox 1-0 whitewashing of Houston on Wednesday completed the 19th four-game sweep in World Series history and gave the franchise its first title since 1917. And team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and vice chairman Eddie Einhorn were able to hoist the championship trophy for the first time in their 25-year ownership reign.

But Wednesday's effort had far greater ramifications than simply what was played out on the baseball field. s a victory for the grandparents and great grandparents, who first came into the world when manager Pants Rowland led a group of players named Buck, Swede, Chick, Happy, Red, Nemo and "Shoeless Joe" to the White Sox last World Series title some nine decades ago. It was for the parents who took their kids to Comiskey Park, old and new, U.S. Cellular Field, and heck, even Wrigley Field, hoping against hope that one day they could talk about that special championship season in Chicago.

The win even was for the kids, who have no idea what baseball misery is really all about, having waited only four, five or six years, in some instances, to watch one of their baseball teams celebrate greatness. And this just in for the doubters, the skeptics who didn't believe the White Sox would get to the playoffs, let alone advance.

Ozzie Guillen's crew is pretty darn good. As postseason success goes, they are almost unparalleled. With Wednesday's win, the White Sox finished the 2005 playoffs at 11-1. This mark ties the South Siders with the 1999 Yankees for the second-best postseason winning percentage of all time. They only trail the 1976 Reds (7-0).

"We know about the 11-1 record, and we would have liked to go 11-0," said White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, drenched in champagne, but still able to flash a mischievous smile. "But we won enough games, and that's all that matters."

"A lot of people doubted us in Spring Training," added White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle, who started Game 2 of the World Series and saved Game 3. "Kenny [Williams, GM] and Ozzie obviously knew what they were doing, and it paid off."

Chicago also won 16 of its final 17 games, dating back to Sept. 28 in Detroit. And they didn't lose a road game during the entire postseason, covering six games. Simply put, it was utter domination -- even if the final scores didn't always support the description in theory.

Wednesday's victory followed an all too familiar White Sox pattern in 2005 -- great starting pitching, helped out by just enough offense to get the job done, and topped off by sterling defense.

Neither Houston starter Brandon Backe nor White Sox hurler Freddy Garcia allowed many scoring opportunities during their seven scoreless innings apiece. Backe gave up five hits and struck out seven, including five straight in the fourth and fifth innings. Garcia allowed four hits and walked three, one intentionally, while striking out seven.

But the game's lone run came in the eighth, with two outs, off Houston closer Brad Lidge. Pinch-hitter Willie Harris, who didn't even know if he would still be part of the organization at playoff time, opened the frame with a two-strike single to left and was sacrificed to second by Scott Podsednik.