It's tough to back up and eventually replace a legend, though Ron Karkovice was able to pull it off. He carved out a nice Major League career in doing so.
Karkovice was born August 8, 1963 in Union, NJ, and was drafted 14th overall in the first round of the 1982 MLB Draft out of Boone High School in Orlando.
In 1984, his profile in the White Sox media guide already included the nickname "Kark." By 1985, the Sox media guide tacked on an O to make it "Karko." Karkovice had a stellar defensive reputation from the start, but he added an impressive .282/.394/.517 with 20 HR with the bat in 97 games with Birmingham (AA) in 1986. The White Sox came calling in August; “Karko” spent his first several Major League seasons backing up future Hall of Famer Carlton "Pudge" Fisk.
While working as a backup, Karkovice had a few memorable performances.
In only his 23rd career start behind the dish, he caught Joe Cowley's no-hitter against the Angels in Anaheim. He homered in that game as well - no other catcher in White Sox history has homered and caught a no-hitter in the same game.
Improbably, Karkovice hit an inside-the-park grand slam August 30, 1990 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, which still is in the books as a grand slam even if it was largely due to misplays by Twins outfielders John Moses & Dan Gladden. Those four runs would be all it took for the White Sox to come away with a 4-3 win.
On August 11, 1991, Karkovice caught a no-hitter by Wilson Álvarez, who was making his White Sox debut and second start of his Major League career. “Karko” (or “Kark,” if you prefer) is one of five catchers in White Sox history along with Ed McFarland (2), Ray Schalk (3), Luke Sewell (2), and A.J. Pierzynski (2) to catch multiple no-hitters.
By 1992, Karkovice was the main man behind the plate for the White Sox as Fisk was winding down his career, and in 1993 he had a career-high 20 home runs. There were also 11 sacrifice bunts to go along with those 20 long ones - that 20 HR/10 sac bunt combo has only been done eight times since, including José Valentín (2000) and Juan Uribe (2004) for the White Sox.
Karkovice’s defensive numbers backed up his reputation. For his career, Karkovice threw out 281 of 682 potential basestealers (41%), including a remarkable 54% (56 of 104) in 1993. "Karko" evolved into "Officer Karkovice" due to his strong aversion to (base) theft.
The "Officer" hung around with the White Sox through the 1997 season, and though he signed with the Indians in January 1998, he didn't make the team, so he ended up finishing a career-long member of the Southsiders.
Karkovice posted an unimpressive .221/.289/.383 slashline for his career, though his 96 home runs long stood as the record for most by a player who played his entire MLB career for the White Sox. Alexei Ramírez briefly took over the record until he joined the Padres to begin 2016. Currently, José Abreu holds the distinction (146 and counting). Despite his offensive limitations, the White Sox have not had a catcher of Karkovice's defensive ability since he hung up the mask.
Because of his defensive excellence, he was more valuable than many fans realize. Measuring by both Baseball-Reference AND Fangraphs wins above replacement, he was better during his White Sox career than fellow Orlando high school product A.J. Pierzynski.
Career WAR with White Sox
Games Baseball-Reference WAR Fangraphs WAR
Ron Karkovice 939 14.6 13.7
A.J. Pierzynski 1,068 12.9 12.5
After his playing career, Karkovice had a few assorted coaching gigs - he coached for the Newark Bears (2009-11 - under Manager Tim Raines) then served as Bench Coach for the Camden Riversharks in 2012 before moving up to manage the Riversharks in 2013-14.
Ron Karkovice is remembered quite well.