1923 Though the team was not contending for the pennant, the White Sox made a late move that would have terrific short- and long-term consequences: Buying center fielder Maurice Archdeacon from the Double-A Rochester Tribe in the International League, for the impressive sum of $50,000. The speedster was hitting .357 for the Tribe — and dialed it up when inserted as an everyday major-leaguer as an audition for 1924. Archdeacon hit .402 in 22 late-season games for the White Sox, with his batting average
never falling any lower than .378. He followed that up in 1924 by hitting .319 for the South Siders.
By …
1925
… Archdeacon’s star had faded, and he saw just 10 games of action before being traded to the then-Double A Baltimore Orioles in June. The player to be named later in that deal arrived in Chicago on this very day: Righthander Tommy Thomas, who would go on to put up a 22.2 WAR career over seven seasons in the South Side rotation, beginning in 1926.
Not only was the swap an enormous win for the White Sox, but brought one of their best-ever pitchers to the South Side, as Thomas ranks as the 15th-best pitcher in franchise history per WAR.
1967
In one of the longest games in franchise history (tied for 13th-longest overall), 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 4 1⁄2 hours, and was finally finished when Rocky Colavito singled to right, driving home Buddy Bradford.
White Sox starter Gary Peters allowed one hit in 11 innings, striking out seven … but also walked 10! (I wonder what his pitch count was!) This came just two weeks after also throwing 11 scoreless innings against Boston, in a four-hit win.
But opposing starter Sonny Siebert outdueled Peters, also going 11 innings, yielding four hits but no walks.
Don McMahon, the fourth Sox pitcher, picked up the relief win.
1985
With one out and the bases full in the ninth inning of a game the White Sox led, 2-1, at Seattle, pinch-hitter Joe DeSa crushed a grand slam to right field, becoming the eighth White Sox ever and first since 1972 to have a pinch-hit slam. The White Sox went on to win, 6-1, improving to 72-68 on a season marked by a strong September finish.
DeSa’s story takes a sad turn, however, as this would be his final of his two career major league homers. The Hawaii native played all of 1986 in Triple-A Buffalo, hitting .283 with 17 homers and 83 RBIs. He became a free agent but was snapped up by the Kansas City Royals, with a good chance of breaking camp on the MLB roster. However, while playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, he was killed in a car accident on Dec. 20, 1986.
1987
In a game in his old haunts of 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 Seattle — and he was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double! Bannister faced the minimum 27 hitters, and struck out 10.
Opposing starter Mark Langston pitched a two-hitter for the Mariners — and took the loss! Unfortunately for him, his two hits allowed were solo homers to Pat Keedy and Donnie Hill.
1996
After James Baldwin endured a six-run outburst in Boston to fall behind, 6-0, in the third, Frank Thomas led off the fourth inning with an answer: a solo shot off of Roger Clemens. But that blast over the Green Monster didn’t just cut the Red Sox lead to five, it tied Thomas with Harold Baines and Carlton Fisk for most-ever White Sox homers, 214.
Interestingly, Baines had been the former franchise leader, passing Bill Melton, but after being traded from Chicago in 1989, Fisk took over the franchise lead. Baines had tied Fisk atop the White Sox leaderboard just two weeks earlier, on August 30.
2002
For the first time, the new Sox Park hosted a concert. The Rolling Stones took the stage in the middle of a three-day stand in Chicago that saw them first at the United Center, later at the Aragon Ballroom. The Daily Herald reported 52,000 fans, but the true total was likely in the 40,000 range. The Pretenders opened the show, then giving way to two hours of Stones. The tour celebrated the 40th year of the Rolling Stones.
As for the White Sox, they trounced New York at Yankee Stadium, 13-2, getting multi-hit games from José Valentín, Magglio Ordóñez, Frank Thomas and Joe Crede.
2004
Due to Hurricane Ivan, U.S. Cellular Field hosted the first two games of a series between Montreal and Florida. It was the first time a National League team had played a regular season “home” game in an American League park since 1946. Attendance for the curiosity was 4,003.
