Today in White Sox History: September 23

One-Dogged: Johnson went three-bag crazy at — what new — the Metrodome.

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Sept. 23, 1995 — Lance Johnson got six hits in six at-bats in a game at the Minnesota Twins. Three of Johnson’s hits were triples, and he drove in four runs in the 14-4 win. One Dog was the fourth player in team history to go 6-for-6, and first to ever get three triples in a game.

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Sept. 23, 2017 – White Sox slugger José Abreu became the third player in major league history to start his career with four straight seasons of at least 25 home runs and at least 100 RBIs, by virtue of his run-scoring ground out off of the Kansas City’s Scott Alexander at Guaranteed Rate Field. José joined Albert Pujois and Joe DiMaggio in accomplishing this rare feat. Pujols, DiMaggio, Abreu, Al Simmons and Ted Williams are the only players to start their careers with four straight seasons of 100 RBIs.

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Today in White Sox History: September 22

The best magic number: At this time in 1959, it shrank to zero. (Chicago Sun-Times)

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Sept. 22, 1959 — The White Sox clinched the American League pennant, win 4-2 at Cleveland. Al Smith and Jim Rivera hit back-to-back home runs in the game. Smith also threw out former Sox star Minnie Miñoso trying to score a run.

A crowd estimated by the Chicago Sun-Times at 125,000 was at Midway Airport to greet the Sox when they returned home. All this on a night when Chicago fire commissioner Robert Quinn ordered the air raid sirens turned on to celebrate the title, causing fear and panic in a number of non-baseball fans who thought the Russians were attacking. The South Siders would wind up winning the 1959 pennant by five games over the Tribe, with a mark of 94-60.

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Sept. 22, 1966 — In a game at Yankee Stadium, pitcher Joe Horlen and his teammates stopped New York to the tune of 4-1. Only 413 fans were in attendance at the gigantic stadium. It’s believed to be the smallest home crowd ever at a Yankee game.

Today in White Sox History: September 20

Double-dip: Welcome to the first and only day in White Sox history when there have been two no-hitters thrown. (Wikipedia)

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Sept. 20, 1902 — Nixey Callahan threw the first no-hitter in franchise history as he beat the Detroit Tigers. The Sox gave him all the runs he needed by scoring three in the first inning. The Sox won it, 3-0, in Chicago.

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Sept. 20, 1908 — White Sox pitcher Frank Smith tossed his second no-hitter, beating the Philadelphia A’s 1-0 in Chicago. September 20 remains the only date in franchise history where multiple no-hitters have been thrown.

Today in White Sox History: September 19

Going out on a high note: Joe Cowley [right] not only threw a wild no-hitter against the Angels — it was his last big-league win.

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Sept. 19, 1925 — The White Sox set the franchise record (since tied) for the largest shutout margin in team history when they blanked the Senators 17-0 at Washington. The game was the back half of a twin bill. Ted Lyons would throw a one-hitter, losing his no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning on a bloop hit by Bobby Veach.

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Sept. 19, 1986 — White Sox pitcher Joe Cowley made the record books by no-hitting the Angels in Anaheim, 7-1. It was an unusual no-hitter. Cowley walked seven, including three straight in the sixth inning, when California got their run.

Ironically, it would be Cowley’s last win in the big leagues.

Today in White Sox History: September 18

Rare treat: A grand salami from Carlos May, in most unusual fashion.

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Sept. 18, 1940 — A game originally played on June 20, with the White Sox beating the New York Yankees 1-0 in 11 innings, was ordered replayed by the commissioner’s office. A Sox win was literally taken away.

The South Siders found themselves, in the middle of a pennant race, losing 9-8 in the eighth inning of the replayed game (which was the second game of a doubleheader) when umpire Harry Geisel ordered the game ended, claiming it was too dark to finish. The decision meant a split for the two teams on the day.

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Sept. 18, 1971 — White Sox outfielder Carlos May pulled off one of the rarest baseball feats of all when he hit an inside-the-park grand slam against Tom Murphy of the Angels. May, a left-handed hitter, sliced a drive down the left field line at Comiskey Park in the first inning. California’s Ken Berry, the former Sox outfielder, slammed his head diving for the ball, which rolled into the corner. By the time center fielder Mickey Rivers fielded the ball and threw it home, everyone had scored. The Sox, behind pitcher Tom Bradley, won the game, 5-1.  

Today in White Sox History: September 17

Big win: Oh, for the days of a 20-game division lead! (Chicago Sun-Times)

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Sept. 17, 1971 — The White Sox defeated the California Angels 9-4 at Comiskey Park, in a game marked by. an unusual event. All nine players in the White Sox lineup got one RBI, including pitcher Bart Johnson, who started, gave up eight hits and struck out 12 in going the distance.

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Sept. 17, 1983 — Before a packed house at Comiskey Park, Harold Baines hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Julio Cruz with the run that won the American League West title for the White Sox, as they edged the Seattle Mariners, 4-3. The Sox went to the playoffs for the first time in 24 years, drew a then-record season attendance of more than two million fans and had the best record in baseball at 99-63. They’d win the division by a record 20 games over the second place Kansas City Royals.

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Sept. 17, 1984 – Harold Baines became the only player in franchise history to have more than one game with three home runs. Baines had his first three-homer game in July 1982. On this day at the Minnesota Twins, he’d club three more in a 7-3 win, driving in four.  

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Sept. 17, 2007 — The Sox tied the club record for the most runs ever scored in the fifth inning of a game when they sent 11 guys home at the Kansas City Royals. In addition to the 11 runs, they also collected 10 hits and three homers, one each by Danny Richar, Jermaine Dye and Josh Fields. Richar, Jerry Owens and Fields all had two hits and Fields drove in four runs in the inning.

Today in White Sox History: September 16

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Sept. 16, 2007 — White Sox slugger Jim Thome joined an exclusive club when he hammered his 500^th career home run in the ninth inning of a White Sox 9-7 win over the Angels at U.S. Cellular Field. Thome was playing in his 2,000^th career game when he connected off Dustin Moseley for the win.

The Sox trailed 7-1 at one point before coming back. It was the first time that the 500^th home run for a player was a walk-off winner. Jim would hit 134 home runs in a White Sox uniform.

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Today in White Sox History: September 15

Double his pleasure: Lyons was so great for the White Sox, the franchise honored him with two “Days.”

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Sept. 15, 1940 — Ted Lyons Day was held at Comiskey Park. The “Baylor Bearcat” won 260 games with the club and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. His No. 16 would be retired in 1987. This was the second time Lyons was honored this way, the first time coming in 1933.

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Sept. 15, 1964 — In his first at-bat in the American League after many seasons in the NL, pinch-hitter deluxe Forrest “Smoky” Burgess belted a game-tying home run at Detroit. The Sox would eventually beat the Tigers 3-2 in 10 innings, keeping their pennant hopes alive. Burgess would lead the league in pinch hits in 1965 and 1966.

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Sept. 15, 1970 — Shortly after taking over as the new director of player personnel, Roland Hemond targeted the man who’d eventually in his words, “save” the franchise. Hemond called Bing Devine to see what the chances were of making a deal for Cardinals slugger Dick Allen. Devine turned him down, but 15 months later Hemond would get his man — from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Sept. 15, 1983 — The White Sox set the franchise record for most runs scored in the sixth inning of a game when they got 11 in a 12-0 win over the Seattle Mariners at Comiskey Park. LaMarr Hoyt got the win, his 21^st on the season. The game only lasted seven innings due to rain. Harold Baines had a grand slam, as the Sox cut their magic number down to two for winning the division. The Sox sent 17 men to the plate in the sixth, which saw them get nine hits.

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Sept. 15, 1990 — Owner Jerry Reinsdorf fired GM Larry Himes, citing “personality differences.” Himes drafted and signed future White Sox stars like Frank Thomas, Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura and Alex Fernandez. During the press conference announcing the hiring of Ron Schueler as new GM, Reinsdorf issued his famous “point A to point B to point C” comment. Later in a rare radio appearance he was candid on the subject to host Chet Coppock: “The fact is, Larry Himes cannot get along with anybody. You can hardly find anybody in the Sox organization that wasn’t happy when Larry Himes left.”

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Sept. 15, 1996 — Frank Thomas slugged his 215^th home run in a Sox uniform, breaking Carlton Fisk’s team record. Thomas homered three times at Fenway Park off the Red Sox’s Tim Wakefield, yet the Sox lost the game, 9-8.

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Sept. 15, 1997 — In an 11-10 loss in Milwaukee, Sox rookies Mario Valdez and Jeff Abbott both hit their first big league home runs. Valdez got his in the fifth inning, Abbott an inning later.

Today in White Sox History: September 14

Rubber arm: “15 innings of work, skip? No problem!”

Sept. 14, 1952 — In a 17-inning game in Chicago, White Sox pitcher Saul Rogovin struck out 14 Boston Red Sox in 15 innings of work. But it was Luis Aloma who got the decision as the White Sox won, 4-3.

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Sept. 14, 1974 — White Sox first baseman Dick Allen called a team meeting and announced he was retiring from baseball. Allen, the controversial slugger, would win the American League home run title despite missing the final two weeks of the season. Allen was fighting serious injuries to his shoulder and leg from previous seasons, but the way he “walked out” on the Sox left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans. White Sox GM Roland Hemond traded Allen’s rights to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later (interestingly, only after Allen had been traded a second time, to Philadelphia in May 1975, did the White Sox-Braves trade get completed … with one of the players Atlanta acquired from the Phillies, catcher Jim Essian!). Allen would un-retire and see action with the Phillies and Oakland A’s before retiring for good after the 1977 season.

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Sept. 14, 1997 — Carlton Fisk had his uniform No. 72 retired in a ceremony before the White Sox took on Cleveland. The game was also remembered for manager Terry Bevington going to the mound to make a pitching change … with no one was warming up in the bullpen when he called for the change! (The White Sox had a 3-0 lead at the time, and Bevington’s blunder of pulling a pitcher with a cold bullpen led Cleveland rallying to win, 8-3.)

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Sept. 14, 2017 — It was a record-setting afternoon for a couple of White Sox players in the team’s 17-7 blowout of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Sox outfielder Avisaíl García went 5-for-5 with seven RBIs and two runs scored in the game, in addition to a walk. White Sox rookie second baseman Yoán Moncada went 4-for-5 with two walks and five runs scored, and first baseman José Abreu went 4-for-5 with three runs scored.

García became the second White Sox player with five hits and seven RBI in a game since at least 1913. The other was Carl Reynolds, at the New York Yankees on July 2, 1930. Moncada, meanwhile, tied Hall-of-Famer Tim Raines‘s franchise record with the five runs scored. Raines originally set the record against the Red Sox in Boston on April 18, 1994.

The Sox as a team pounded out 25 hits in the game.

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Today in White Sox History: September 13

Casual day: White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf kicks back to watch the Marlins and Expos at Sox Park in 2004. (Wikipedia)

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Sept. 13, 1967 — In one of the longest games in franchise history and in the middle of a four-team pennant race, the White Sox shut out Cleveland 1-0 in 17 innings! (Now that’s pitching!)

The game lasted more than four and a half hours and was finally finished when Rocky Colavito singled to right, driving home Buddy Bradford. One other note from this game, Sox starter Gary Peters allowed one hit in 11 innings, striking out seven … and he also walked 10! (I wonder what his pitch count was!)

Don McMahon, the fourth Sox pitcher, picked up the relief win. (It’s notable that on at least one occasion this season, White Sox manager Ricky Renteria has used four pitchers in one inning.)

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Sept. 13, 1987 — In a game in Seattle, White Sox pitcher Floyd Bannister fired a one-hitter in winning 2-0. Harold Reynolds’ two-out single to left in the first inning was the only baserunner on the night for the Mariners, and ironically he was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double! Bannister faced the minimum 27 hitters and struck out 10.

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Sept. 13, 2004 — Due to hurricane Ivan, U.S. Cellular Field hosted the first two games of a series between the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins. It was the first time a National League team played a regular season “home” game in an American League park since 1946.