July 1st is one of the most eventful days in White Sox history.
Here’s a look at some big-time Sox moments that occurred on July 1st, including a grand opening and one of the sweetest wins ever at Wrigley Field:
*1903, SIGH! YOUNG HANDLES SOX: The legendary Cy Young did all the damage in the Boston Americans’ 1-0 win over the White Sox at South Side Park. Young drove in the only run in dropping the White Sox to 29-27 for one of his record 511 victories.
*1905, OWEN UP TO IT: SOX SWEEP: Frank Owen started, completed and won both games of the White Sox doubleheader against St. Louis. Owen gave up two runs on four hits in the first game as the Sox won 3-2 and blanked the Browns on three hits in the second game in a 2-0 triumph.
*1910, COMISKEY PARK OPENS: Comiskey Park, the Baseball Palace of the World, opened on time to rave reviews with brass bands, an ornate downtown parade and the well wishes of many local celebrities prio to the Sox 2-0 loss to the Browns before an estimated crowd of 28,000. Ed Walsh, who allegedly had a hand in designing the cavernous park, started for the Sox and took the loss.
*1922, BIG START: Bibb Falk’s first inning grand slam sent the White Sox to a 7-3 win over Detroit befor 12,000 at Comiskey Park. Falk’s slam came with Eddie Collins, Harry Hooper and Johnny Mostil and made things easy on starting and winning pitcher Red Faber, who earned his 11th victory.
*1943, BULLFROG!: Bill Dietrich, who was referenced in the 1983 movie “A Christmas Story,” fired a two-hitter in the White Sox 2-0 win over Washington before 2,155 at Comiskey Park. Dietrich gave up two singles and one walk with two strikeouts for his third win in the 1 hour and 39 minute affair.
*1945, A NINE-RUN FIFTH: Roy Schalk drove in three runs in a nine-run fifth as the White Sox whipped the Yankees 11-4 in the first game of a doubleheader sweep in New York. Johnny Dickshot added a two-run single in the outburst which broke a 2-2 tie. The Sox won the second game, 6-5.
*1949, AN ALL-HOMER WIN: Home runs by Bud Souchock, Chuck Kress and Catfish Metkovich accounted for all of the White Sox run in a 4-0 win at Detroit. Souchock’s homer came in the second while Kress and Metkovich went back-to-back in the fifth as southpaw Bill Wight fired a four-hitter.
*1951, HARDLY A MINNIE HOMER: Minnie Minoso launched a 400-foot home run in the 11th inning to power the White Sox to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Browns in the first game of a doubleheader before 27,572 at Comiskey Park. Ken Holcombe went the distance for the win.
*1958, EARLY WYNN … IN RELIEF!: Early Wynn picked up his first relief win since Aug. 15, 1952 in the White Sox 5-4 victory in 11 innings win over Cleveland in front of 16,639 at Comiskey Park. Sherm Lollar’s single scored Jim Landis with the winning run after Landis had doubled with one out in the 11th. Wynn worked a perfect 11th with one strikeout to move to 8-6.
*1962, SAC IT UP!: Added by outfield errors, the White Sox collected a Major League record three sacrifice flies in an inning in a 7-6 win over the Cleveland in the second game of a doubleheader before 28,048 at Comiskey Park. Indians’ outfielder Gene Green dropped fly balls by Juan Pizarro and Nellie Fox that were ruled sac flies. Sox outfielder Al Smith accounted for the lone “normal” sac fly when he flew out to Green for the first out of the fifth. The three sac flies were part of a six-run inning in a win that followed a 5-4 win in Game 1 thanks to Cam Carreon’s wakloff triple.
*1964, BIG DAY FOR JOEL: Joel Horlen struck out a career-high 10 in a route-going performance as the White Sox capped a doubleheader sweep with a 2-1 Game 2 win over Washington before 14,287 at Comiskey Park. In the first game, the Sox used a Ron Hansen go-ahead single to prevail 8-7.
*1966, PETERS … IN A PINCH!: Pinch-runner Gary Peters scored on a passed ball in the 13th inning to give the White Sox a 2-1 win over Boston before 18,788 at Comiskey Park. John Romano singled to start the frame and was replaced by Peters. After a bunt and a groundout, Peters dashed home with the winning run on a Mike Ryan passed ball. Bob Locker earned the win with five innings of shutout relief.
*1967, HORLEN AT 10-1: Joel Horlen improved to 10-1 in the first-place White Sox 6-5 win at Detroit thanks to relief help from Bob Locker and Hoyt Wilhelm, who earned his seventh save. Ron Hansen, who drove in three runs, and Tom McCraw homered for the Sox who opened a 5.5 game lead atop the A.L.
*1977, PITCH AT YOUR OWN RISK …: Richie Zisk hit two home runs and Chris Knapp went the distance as the South Side Hitmen White Sox stopped the Twins 5-2 before 35,709 at Comiskey Park. Zisk’s homers came in the first and third innings and helped the Sox move into a tie for first with Minnesota in the A.L. West. Knapp gave up nine hits and three walks while striking out seven for his seventh win. The victory ingnited a nine-game winning streak which would see the White Sox open up a 4.5-game lead in the West
*1985, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!: The White Sox celebrated Comiskey Park’s 75th birthday with a post-game concert by Alabama. The Seattle Mariners spoiled the nation’s oldest park’s birthday by defeating the Sox 3-1 before a crowd of 30,041.
*1987 WALKER TAKES ECK DEEP: Greg Walker’s home run in the 10th inning off future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley lifted the White Sox to a 5-3 win over the Oakland Athletics before 13,133 at Comiskey Park. The Sox forced extra innngs in the ninth when Daryl Boston delivered a pinch-triple and scored on a wild pitch.
*1988, JUNE 30 OR JULY 1?: At the stroke of midnight on June 30, the Illinois General Assembly approved legislation for what would be the New Comiskey Park to be built directly south of Old Comiskey Park thus saving the Sox from a move to Florida. Ground was broken for the new stadium May 7, 1989 and the stadium opened on time and under budget April 18, 1991.
*1990, NO-HIT … LOSS!: New York Yankees’ pitcher Andy Hawkins no-hit the White Sox but lost 4-0, on Comiskey Park’s 80th and final birthday before 30,642 on the Southside. The bizarre win pushed the Sox into a first-place tie with Oakland in the American League West. The White Sox scored four unearned runs in the eighth with three scoring when left fielder Jim Leyritz misplayed Robin Ventura’s fly ball. The fourth run scored when Jesse Barfield couldn’t handle a fly ball in right. Barry Jones got the win in relief of Greg Hibbard, who tossed seven sterling innings.
*1991, WIN NO. 7000: Carlton Fisk’s homer in the 10th was the difference as the White Sox recorded their 7,000th win in franchise history with a 5-4 victory in 10 innings in Minnesota. Bobby Thigpen got the victory with two shutout innings of relief.
*1992, GREBECK: 5-FOR-5!: Craig Grebeck went 5-for-5 with three doubles, two runs and two RBIs in the White Sox 8-5 win at Cleveland.
*1996,LET’S BE FRANK: A MILESTONE!: Frank Thomas registered the 1,000th hit of his career in the White Sox 10-7 loss to Minnesota before 19,211 at Comiskey Park. Thomas’ ninth inning single made him the 22nd player in franchise history to reach the 1,000-hit plateau.
*1998, YOU CAN RING MY BELLE: Albert Belle became the 12th player to reach the upper deck in left field at the Astrodome in the White Sox 10-4 loss in Houston. Belle’s 426-foot homer was also the first by a White Sox player in the Astrodome. During the game, a wild pitch bounced into the pocket of plate umpire Gerry Davis‚ which allowed the Sox Ray Durham score while Astro catcher Brad Ausmus scurried around the plate trying to find the ball
*2001, CAL SAYS FAREWELL: Cal Ripken Jr. went out with a bang at Comiskey Park. In the final game of his illustrious career at Comiskey Park, Ripken went 3-for-4 with three runs in Baltimore’s 11-3 victory before 34,588 on the Southside. In typical fashion, Ripken played the entire game at third base despite the lopsided score. Prior to the game, the Sox honored Ripken with a ceremony and gave him a seat from Old Comiskey Park, where he played his first All-Star Game and playoff game.
*2003, FUTURE HALL OF FAMER IN THE FOLD: The White Sox acquired second baseman Roberto Alomar and outfielder Carl Everett in separate trades. The Sox picked up Alomar from the Mets for minor leaguers Royce Ring, Edwin Almonte and Andrew Salvo. The Sox obtained Everett from Texas for minor leaguers Anthony Webster, Josh Rupe and Frankie Francisco.
*2006, A.J. SHAKES UP WRIGLEY: A.J. Pierzynski’s three-run homer with two outs in the ninth sent the White Sox to an emotional 8-6 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Pierzynski’s blast came off Ryan Dempster and after Ross Gload singled and Jermaine Dye walked with two out and no one on base. The blast provided the Sox with one of their great moments in the rivalry with the Cubs. Bobby Jenks worked a perfect ninth for his 25th save. The wild game featured 27 hits and five ties or lead changes.
*2008, QUICK FINISH: Orlando Cabrera’s single in the 10th scored Dewayne Wise with the winner two batters after Alexei Ramirez hit a game-tying homer in the first-place White Sox 2-1 win over Cleveland at U.S. Cellular Field. Following Ramirez’s blast, Wise delivered a pinch-single and stole second before coming home with the winner as the Sox won their sixth straight.
*2011, TAKE THAT, CUBS!: Juan Pierre’s tiebreaking two-out two-run triple capped a four-run seventh as the White Sox overtook the Cubs 6-4 at Wrigley Field. Earlier in the frame, Alexei Ramirez tied the game with a two-run home run.
*2015, SWEET WIN IN ST. LOUIS: Melky Cabrera’s tiebreaking homer in the sixth gave the White Sox the lead for good in a 7-1 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis. Jose Quintana fanned eight in six innings for his fourth win. https://soxnerd.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/spirit-of-st-louis-soxnerd-style/?fbclid=IwAR2UWFmWHUOwustz4Nbh3yn3gwEeL2KrrGdCbAk2HNxOFhRxZ57vD4DJ3lc_aem_AdUK24kIigX9xSX27QyoyYNRywti6-bKZFzXT7RxeA0yc6MeDund5Bvcz-jVbnFLDAg&mibextid=Zxz2cZ
*2022, THANKS, LEURY!: Leury Garcia’s RBI single with two-out in the ninth was all the White Sox needed in a 1-0 win at San Francisco. Garcia’s hit plated Adam Haseley, who was punch-running for Gavin Sheets, who reached on a one-out error. This was the 262nd 1-0 win in team history and the 28th where the Sox scored the run in the ninth. Of those 28 only three have occurred since 1969.