A lot went on today (APRIL 22ND) in White Sox history.
Here are the highlights …
*1900, VICTORY NO. 1: Thanks to Fred Hartman’s go-ahead single in the seventh, the host White Sox defeated Milwaukee 5-3 in for their first victory as a Chicago team. Not recognized as a Major League team yet, the Sox entertained a crowd of 12,000 in Chicago to a win over Connie Mack’s Brewers. Hartman’s single scored Herm McFarland with what proved to be the winning run.
*1915, FIVE IN THE NINTH TO WIN HOME OPENER: In what the Tribune called Charles Comiskey’s “grandest opening he has had in his Chicago career,” the White Sox topped St. Louis 5-4 before 22,000 at Comiskey Park. Shano Collins scored on a wild pitch to cap a five-run ninth after his two-out triple scored Eddie Collins with the tying run.
*1920, SOX MAKE IT 4-FOR-4: “Shoeless” Joe Jackson was 4-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI as the defending American League champion White Sox improved to 4-0 for the second time in franchise history with an 8-2 win at Detroit. Future Hall of Famer Red Faber posted the first of his 23 wins in the Sox first road game of the season.
*1945, RARITY: A 5-0 START: Cass Michaels’ go-ahead RBI in the eighth of Game 2 sent the host White Sox to a 5-3 win over St. Louis and just the third 5-0 start in franchise history. Coupled with a 4-3 win in Game 1, these Sox joined their 1914 and 1920 counterparts as the only teams in team history to start 5-0.
*1955, HISTORY IN THE AIR: After becoming the first A.L. team to fly from one city to another, the White Sox won their Kansas City debut 5-3 over the A’s. The road trip began April 21 in Detroit before the Sox flew to Kansas City where the A’s had moved after spending the previous 54 seasons in Philadelphia. Virgil Trucks started and got the win for the Sox.
*1959, 11 RUNS ON ONE HIT IN ONE INNING: The White Sox scored 11 runs on one hit (a Johnny Callison single), a hit batsman, three errors and 10 walks in the seventh inning in beating the Athletics 20-6 before 7,446 in Kansas City. Bob Shaw got the win with 7.1 innings of shutout relief of starter Early Wynn. Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio combined for nine RBIs as the Sox pounded out 18 hits in logging their first 20-run game since a 20-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader against Washington at Comiskey Park on June 17, 1956.
*1972, WOODY DOES IT ALL: Wilbur Wood reached on a fielder’s choice and scored the game’s only run on an error and pitched a complete game seven-hitter in the White Sox 1-0 win over the Kansas City Royals in the first game of a doubleheader sweep at Comiskey Park. In the nightcap, Carlos May’s solo homer in the eighth was the difference in a 3-2 win before 6,863 on the Southside.
*1977, A’S TAKE A RISK AND PITCH TO ZISK: Richie Zisk was 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs in the White Sox 8-2 win at Oakland. Zisk hit a two-run homer in the first and then put the Sox on top for good with a tiebreaking dinger in the third inning. Zisk capped the Sox scoring when his double scored Jerry Hairston in the ninth. Francisco Barrios went the distance and struck out 10 as the Sox won for the seventh time in eight games.
*1980, A RARE FENWAY SHUTOUT: Jim Morrison had three hits, including a double, and drove in a run in the White Sox 2-0 win over the Red Sox for the team’s first shutout in Boston in seven seasons. Morrison and Wayne Nordhagen drove in runs in the sixth inning. Britt Burns and Mike Proly combined on a six-hitter as the Sox posted their first shutout at Fenway Park since Stan Bahnsen’s complete game effort in the second game of a doubleheader on July 17, 1973. Burns started and pitched into the sixth inning and gave up three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in improving to 2-0. Proly pitched 3.1 shutout innings and gave up three hits and struck out three for his first save.
*1984, VERSATILE SQUIRES: Lefty Mike Squires started the Sox game at Detroit at first base, made a stop at third and finished on the mound. Squires retired Tom Brookens, the only man he faced, on a shallow fly ball to end the eighth inning in the Sox 9-1 loss.
*1989, KING HONORS PIERCE: Eric King paid tribute to Billy Pierce on Billy Pierce Night with a Pierce-esque three-hitter with six strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Seattle before 15,007 at Comiskey Park. Ron Kittle gave King all he needed with a fourth-inning single that scored Dave Gallagher.
*1991, BIG HURT SETS OFF THE BOARD FOR THE FIRST TIME: Frank Thomas launched the first Sox home run in the first night game at New Comiskey Park in an 8-7 victory over Baltimore before 30,480 on the Southside. Thomas’ blast came off Ben McDonald in the fifth inning with one on and two out and gave the Sox the lead for good in their second win in their new home.
*1998, DURHAM SEES THE ERRORS OF CLEVELAND’S WAYS: Ray Durham tied a Major League record by reaching base three times on errors in the White Sox 14-7 pasting of the Indians at Jacobs Field. Frank Thomas got the Sox going with his 64th career first-inning homer and then the Sox, who had 16 hits, finished the job with a nine-run fifth.
*2000, TAKE ME OUT TO THE BRAWL-GAME: The Sox pounded the Detroit Tigers 14-6 in a fight- and ejection-filled game before 16,410 at Comiskey Park. A huge brawl broke out in the seventh which lasted 13 minutes and resulted in six ejections. In the ninth, another brawl ensued which prompted two more ejections. The fights resulted in seven members of the Sox roster drawing suspensions from the American League. Many pointed to this game as the galvanizing force behind the Sox unexpected run to the Central Division title. The fights overshadowed a great day by Chris Singleton, who went 5-for-5 with a double, a homer and three RBI.
*2003, LOAIZA TOUGH AGAIN: Esteban Loaiza hurled 8.1 shutout innings in improving to 4-0 as the Sox stopped the Orioles 3-1 in Baltimore. Loaiza limited the Orioles to three hits before yielding a home run with one out in the ninth. He finished with eight strikeouts and no walks. Frank Thomas fronted the Sox for good with a homer in the first.
*2005, ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER LEAD: Joe Crede extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games as the White Sox grabbed a lead for the 17th consecutive game at the start of a season – a club record – in beating the Royals 8-2 in Kansas City. The first-place Sox increased their lead to three games in the American League Central behind another solid effort from Freddy Garcia in winning their fifth straight game. The big right-hander gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings – retiring 12 in a row at one point – with three strikeouts in moving to 2-1. Scott Podsednik swiped three bases to lead an offense that pumped out 12 hits.
*2012, FUKUDOME!: Kosuke Fukodome’s lead-providing sac fly capped a three-run sixth in the White Sox 7-4 win at Seattle. Fukodome’s RBI followed Alex Rios’ two-run triple which tied the game.
*2015, NO. 1 FOR THE SHARK: Jose Abreu’s first inning homer sent the White Sox and Jeff Samardzija to a 6-0 victory over Cleveland before 14,429 at U.S. Cellular Field. Samardzija fired six innings to earn his first White Sox win. Abreu capped the scoring with a two-run double in the seventh inning.
*2016, SOX ON Q: Jose Quintana fired seven scoreless innings for the win as the White Sox topped Texas 5-0 before 15,486 at U.S. Cellular Field. Quintana gave up four hits and struck out four in improving to 2-1. Brett Lawrie had two RBI and Melky Cabrera contributed two hits as the Sox moved to 11-6.